Throwing the Hammer
Throwing the Hammer is a riotous novel about self-realization and the challenges of shifting private school politics.
The educational escapades of a Canadian physics teacher are given a philosophical rinse in Gary J. Kirchner’s hilarious novel Throwing the Hammer.
Mark is a former beach bum who is nagged by the ever-present judgments of his father-in-law, despite his wife’s consistent adoration. Utilizing his master’s degree in physics, he lands a job at a distinguished private school where almost no one knows much about the subjects they teach. Soon, he is shuffled into coaching stints for the wrestling team and the nascent football team. He is also asked to be a math teacher, as well as to handle other disciplines outside of his wheelhouse. The headmaster calls him “Bruce,” his chatty fellow faculty members bet on how long he will last in his new roles, and a cadre of pushy parents undermine his work to nurture their children’s natural skills.
Its pacing steady and deliberate, the book secures attention because of Mark’s developing philosophies. He flips between concerns about his impending fatherhood and rationalizing his way through the dizzying stupidity he encounters on a daily basis. He has crisp conversations with others that provoke copious laughs (though, at times, the brainlessness of those around him strains credulity). And in the process of moving through his baffling circumstances, he forms centering connections with his students and the athletes he’s in charge of; through them, his path to personal maturation is secured.
Mark also finds grounding in the accidental wisdom proffered by his hammer-throwing coach, who encourages him to persist through every challenge:
The goal is not to throw the hammer as far as possible. The goal is to let the hammer sing. The hammer will decide how far it wants to go.
Indeed, beyond the everyday humor of its absurd situations, the novel finds center in its late-stage coming-of-age elements. Mark may feel a constant sense of exhaustion because of the buffoonery he encounters, but he is entertaining and captivating as he determines to persevere nonetheless—not only for his students but for his newborn daughter and his wife. He is thus enabled to navigate the hazy intentions of his bumbling headmaster and his nitpicking father-in-law with aplomb, arriving at self-realization because of, not despite, the zany gauntlet he travels.
Throwing the Hammer is a riotous novel about private school politics, know-nothing coaching, and parental vacancy, headed by a man learning to become better before it all falls apart.
Reviewed by
Ryan Prado
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
