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Description
Against the CountryBy: Ben Metcalf NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY VULTURE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR Against the Country is a gift for fans of Southern Gothic and metafiction alike. Set in the Virginia pines, and overrun with failed parents, racist sex offenders, cast off priests, and suicidal chickens, this novel challenges literary convention even as it attacks our national myththat the rural naturally engenders good, while the urban
By: Ben MetcalfNAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY VULTURE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Against the Country is a gift for fans of Southern Gothic and metafiction alike. Set in the Virginia pines, and overrun with failed parents, racist sex offenders, cast-off priests, and suicidal chickens, this novel challenges literary convention even as it attacks our national myth—that the rural naturally engenders good, while the urban breeds an inevitable sin.
In a voice both perfectly American and utterly new, Ben Metcalf introduces the reader to Goochland County, Virginia—a land of stubborn soil, voracious insects, lackluster farms, and horrifying trees—and details one family’s pitiful struggle to survive there. Eventually it becomes clear that Goochland is not merely the author’s setting; it is a growing, throbbing menace that warps and scars every one of his characters’ lives.
Equal parts fiery criticism and icy farce, Against the Country is the most hilarious sermon one is likely to hear on the subject of our native soil, and the starkest celebration of the language our land produced. The result is a literary tour de force that raises the question: Was there ever a narrator, in all our literature, so precise, so far-reaching, so eloquently misanthropic, as the one encountered here?
Praise for Against the Country
“Iconoclastic . . . Against the Country has obvious affinities to Southern Gothic, both in its voice and in the delight it takes in rural ignorance and grotesqueries. . . . [A] country cousin of David Foster Wallace.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Exceptional in its verbal brilliance and conscientiousness, Against the Country involves us in a family’s anguished and hilarious struggle against the strange dooms that seem peculiar to white rural America. This is a savage and gladdening novel.”—Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland and The Dog
“Metcalf’s unnamed narrator dazzles with his Puritan deadpan and capacious intellect, not to mention his double-barreled blasts of dark humor and wicked satire. . . . There are so many brilliant turns of phrase in Against the Country that it’s hard to choose favorites, but Metcalf is at his sharpest and most seductive when his antihero does more than blast and blame, when he steps outside his sermons to say something real. . . . Every note in every solo is sounded with exquisite perfection.”—Slate
“Faulknerian . . . eccentric, magnificent Southern Gothic metafiction.”—Vanity Fair
“Ben Metcalf is a brilliant writer, and Against the Country is an ingenious and hilarious novel, a glittering, bitter celebration of how the lousiness of life can be redeemed in the hands (and mouth) of a top-shelf teller of life’s stories.”—Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask and The Fun Parts
“A daring conglomeration of every trick, swindle and gimmick possible using only ink and paper, a pulpwood imagination machine so finely and expertly wrought that it can take on Jefferson, Thoreau, the church, patriotism, race relations, sexual identity, J. D. Salinger, the myth of America and a thousand other targets . . . [Against the Country] is absolutely and completely worth all investment of time and effort, because it is an undeniably beautiful object, sharp as a new razor.”—NPR
“One of the more necessary—and most eloquent—expressions of a distinctly American, provincial rage in some years.”—Flavorwire
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4.1 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 4
Genuinely bummed that these great balls can’t stand up against my Chloè.
Size: Medium
I love all the Chuckit brand of balls. I found that the Strabo and glow balls in the Chuckit line are the softest, and as such, don't last as long as the rest of Chuckit line of balls. Having said that, they do last longer than than every other brand I've tried (and I do believe I’ve tried every brand available on the market today.)
The strato balls do bounce higher than any of the other balls in the Chuckit line. They really are a good value.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2022
★★★★★ 5
Great dog balls at a great price
Size: Medium
The balls are a favorite for my dog. I could have done without the hole through the middle because I don't do treats in balls anyway. My dog loves balls for their own merit. I needed replacement balls for my Nerf Dog Ball launcher. It seems the originals have disappeared from the market. I took a chance because the price is right and this Chuck-it ball works very well so we're liking this ball a lot. So far my Dachsund, who can destroy a tennis ball (the kind they are selling as Nerf Dog replacements) in 3 minutes has not done any damage to this one so that's a win. I recommend this as a much better ball than the fuzzy tennis balls. I like the colors too since many dog toys are green (which gets lost in the lawn, etc.) or red (even though dogs have red/green color blindness. Blue and orange are good and pretty easy to find. I liked these well enough that this set was my second purchase so I will have spares in case the others are lost.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2023
★★★★★ 5
My Baby loves his new baby!
Size: Medium, Size: Medium
Finally! A ball my 107 lb. pitty/pointer mix can’t destroy. He has torn up every single “indestructible” toy in a day or so until now. He peels fabric and fur off non-rubber toys. He is a 4-legged shredder. I’ve added pictures of him for a size reference of my dog versus this product. I know I had wanted that when shopping for this item.
This ball is now his beloved “baby.” He goes absolutely insane looking for it, chewing it, chasing it, and even sleeping with it. He won’t rest unless he knows exactly where it is. It is his only toy, and he is good with that. After getting this home, I tried giving him other choices, but he won’t touch them.
I was worried that he would rip it apart by putting his teeth in the holes, but so far, not a scratch. It is soft enough to collapse just enough to keep it from cracking when his jaws crush it but not so soft that he can rip it to sheds. The holes are large enough to prevent a suction or vacuum effect on his tongue or mouth. For his size jaws, it is a perfect fit. Other dogs might have problems with suction or be able to get their teeth in those holes and rip it apart. Who knows?
The older version of the Chuckit squeaky ball was his favorite for the year and a half he had it, but the way they make them now, he peels off the orange triangle in hours flat, the squeaker falls out (choking hazard), and then he rips it apart.
I’m going to stock up on these. I can’t imagine how crazy he will be if they ever stop production or change the materials.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2019
★★★★★ 5
Yes!
Size: Medium
Durable. Squeak doesn't last forever with my aggressive chewers but crinkle does. Best balls.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2025
★★★★★ 5
Balls
Size: Medium
My dog loves chasing these balls. He seems to love the squeak! They fit the chuck it stick perfectly, and are great replacements for the originals that came with the stick.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2026
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