Reviews
In this beautiful memoir about learning a trade, Nina MacLaughlin explores mortality, desire, the passage of time, and the meaning of work. She transcends the personal and makes us question what of our own works are built to endure. This book--a thing well-made--certainly is., Nina MacLaughlin built a dream by becoming a carpenter, and transformed her life. Hammer Head is her exquisitely inspiring story--I loved it., I had a sort of missionary urge with her... but I started thinking, even when I was 19: How can I help this person reach the prominence she deserves?, [Lispector] left behind an astounding body of work that has no real corollary inside literature or outside it., Reading Hammer Head, like consuming Cheryl Strayed's Wild, feels like a crucial education... [Hammer Head teaches] by example that it's possible to forge through this world alone, with your own hands and the right supplies, and some good, poetic instruction along the way., Her images dazzle even when her meaning is most obscure, and when she is writing of what she despises she is lucidity itself., Inspirational... [Hammer Head] will have Wild fans throwing down their backpacks and picking up a hammer., Over time, I've come to admire and even love this novel. In fact, as soon as I slammed the book shut, my understanding of G.H.'s story began to take on an almost-corporeal reality. Trying to put this into words is a slippery thing. What I was beginning to appreciate was that I could not consider Lispector's philosophical concerns for any length of time without losing my grasp on those concerns, yet I could somehow feel them, sense the substance of them in my own mind, in those deep pools of thought where language doesn't quite reach, and which words can't express., Lispector's prose is unforgettable... still startling by the end because of Lispector's unsettling forcefulness., MacLaughlin has hit the nail on the head... Stunning... You may very well read [Hammer Head] in one sitting., Not many of us find the courage to follow that small voice inside us to our true work, especially when that work lacks social status and health benefits and financial stability. But here, in this wonderfully assured debut, Nina MacLaughlin compellingly chronicles having done just that, a leap of faith that brings her more deeply into her very core where the stakes are high but the potential for lasting joy is even higher. Lucky for us, MacLaughlin's evocative prose is just as plumb, level, and true as all the wood structures she ultimately learns to build. This is a lovely and important book!, Nina MacLaughlin built a dream by becoming a carpenter, and transformed her life. Hammer Head is her exquisitely inspiring story. I loved it., I have never built anything but after reading Nina MacLaughlin's smart, inspiring memoir Hammer Head, I wanted to. She gives context and depth to wood and the act of shaping it, of working with one's hands, of taking risks and letting go. A fantastic debut., Though MacLaughlin may be an apprentice carpenter, she is a master writer, with the rare combination of acute observation and astute word choice that characterizes writers like Annie Dillard or Joan Didion., Hammer Head is warm, wise, and authentically inspiring. No other book has made me want to re-read Ovid and retile my bathroom floor, nor given me the conviction that I can do both. I loved it.
