Hammers Over The Anvil by Alan Marshall

Hammers Over The Anvil

by Alan Marshall

Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1975 (First Edition)129 pages, Hardcover, dustjacket,

Very Good Condition

'Hammers Over The Anvil shows Alan Marshall at his best!  Alan and his childhood friend Joe are by now firmly established characters i Australian literature.  Here, in moods ranging from the absurdly funny of the poignant, are some new tales of Alan Marshall's childhood.

The characters in the stories are all inhabitants of a small Australian country town - those people of his experiences whom Alan Marshall is able to recreate so vividly.  There is the shady church Elder, the bragging boozer, the promiscuous girl, the village simpleton, the skilled but inarticulate horeseman, all seen through the eyes of a boy, a boy with unusually perceptive and sympathetic eyes, but still a boy.  As Alan and Joe fall quickly out of one adventure into another, we share their enthusiasm for life and their puzzlement at adult hypocrisy.

The short story medium shows Alan Marshall's literary skill to best advantage.  His writing is spare but complete.  Above all, the stories show his remarkable, and humbling humanity.'