What do you think?
Rate this book
Hammer and Anvil A Novel
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
693 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 6, 2007
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 8, 2014
"Not hammer or anvil, hammer and anvil is the true word, for every man is both, and both at once, in every moment of his life."
George Hartwig, aged nineteen, exacerbates his father's patience for the last time after stealing out of school and is banished from his home. He falls in with a charismatic but disreputable nobleman, Maltke von Zehrer, who personified the 'mystical cultus of a long-vanished splendor, of which he still fancied himself the upholder'.
Smuggling, storms, a duel, imprisonment and a lofty lesson about 'the dignity and sanctity of labor' all form part of the plot of this worthy but ponderous novel, which slumbers on at great length only to wrap itself up all threads in a hurry at the end.
I enjoy a fat, lofty, philosophical european novel from the 19th century as much as the next fellow, which I thought this was, after discovering that Spielhagen was inspired by Goethe and was a recognized German master from the period.
Instead what I got for the most part was a romance of the 'Waverly' sort; not as flowery and naive as Walter Scott, more gritty and realistic in the Robert Louis Stevenson mould; but still a romance, with a hopelessly naive protagonist and a tragedy somewhat burnished with an incredulous nobility of spirit.
Not that this is a bad thing, I like both Scott and Stevenson. But the latter would have been more caressing on the ear with his prose, while the later would have told what became a rather bloated story story in half the time or less.
Where there was philosophy, in the second and third parts of the novel, it was dry and didactic. The metaphor of the title is variously used to describe the protagonist, the important figures in his life, the relations between the aristocracy and the plebian class in 19th century pre-unification Germany.
Not bad, but too long by half.
George Hartwig, aged nineteen, exacerbates his father's patience for the last time after stealing out of school and is banished from his home. He falls in with a charismatic but disreputable nobleman, Maltke von Zehrer, who personified the 'mystical cultus of a long-vanished splendor, of which he still fancied himself the upholder'.
Smuggling, storms, a duel, imprisonment and a lofty lesson about 'the dignity and sanctity of labor' all form part of the plot of this worthy but ponderous novel, which slumbers on at great length only to wrap itself up all threads in a hurry at the end.
I enjoy a fat, lofty, philosophical european novel from the 19th century as much as the next fellow, which I thought this was, after discovering that Spielhagen was inspired by Goethe and was a recognized German master from the period.
Instead what I got for the most part was a romance of the 'Waverly' sort; not as flowery and naive as Walter Scott, more gritty and realistic in the Robert Louis Stevenson mould; but still a romance, with a hopelessly naive protagonist and a tragedy somewhat burnished with an incredulous nobility of spirit.
Not that this is a bad thing, I like both Scott and Stevenson. But the latter would have been more caressing on the ear with his prose, while the later would have told what became a rather bloated story story in half the time or less.
Where there was philosophy, in the second and third parts of the novel, it was dry and didactic. The metaphor of the title is variously used to describe the protagonist, the important figures in his life, the relations between the aristocracy and the plebian class in 19th century pre-unification Germany.
Not bad, but too long by half.
December 31, 2015
Hammer and Anvil may please fans of Sir Walter Scott of whom Friedrich Spielhagen is a declared disciple. Indeed, Spielhagen makes multiple allusions to Scott in this novel and in particular to the Talisman.
I must also agree with the other GoodReads reviewer who saw elements from Robert Louis Stevenson in this novel. Moreover, I can say that I saw influences from other Scott disciples notably R.D. Blackmore, Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. Hammer and Anvil is other words borrows everywhere. Unfortunately it is all too much. He creates too many subplots with too many characters. Thus,in the last quarter of the novel he launches into a wild killing spree in a desperate effort to dispose of the unnecessary players and tie up the lose ends.
It must be understand that the bloody carnage is simply meant to serve as a platform for a discussion on the the class struggle . The title is an allusion to Goethe’s statement: ““You must either conquer and rule or serve and lose, suffer or triumph, be the anvil or the hammer”. Spielhagen’s wish is that the historical cycle of one group of oppressors replacing another be ended. Instead of an exploiting “hammer” class beating on an exploited or “anvil” class, all men are to become hammers and anvils simultaneously. Thus at the end of the novel, the protagonist having risen from modest origins to become an important industrialist decides to convert his enterprise into a worker owned cooperative. Any reader not interested the socialist debate s in the second half of the nineteenth will Hammer and Anvil excruciatingly boring.
Finally, it must be acknowledge that Spielhagen is progressive in several areas. Hammer and Anvil also contains numerous references to Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise”. His intent is clearly to show his strong approval of the emancipation of Jews which came into law in the North German Confederation in 1869 the same year that this novel was published. If it was as well written as it was well-intentioned, I would certainly give it more than 2 stars.
I must also agree with the other GoodReads reviewer who saw elements from Robert Louis Stevenson in this novel. Moreover, I can say that I saw influences from other Scott disciples notably R.D. Blackmore, Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. Hammer and Anvil is other words borrows everywhere. Unfortunately it is all too much. He creates too many subplots with too many characters. Thus,in the last quarter of the novel he launches into a wild killing spree in a desperate effort to dispose of the unnecessary players and tie up the lose ends.
It must be understand that the bloody carnage is simply meant to serve as a platform for a discussion on the the class struggle . The title is an allusion to Goethe’s statement: ““You must either conquer and rule or serve and lose, suffer or triumph, be the anvil or the hammer”. Spielhagen’s wish is that the historical cycle of one group of oppressors replacing another be ended. Instead of an exploiting “hammer” class beating on an exploited or “anvil” class, all men are to become hammers and anvils simultaneously. Thus at the end of the novel, the protagonist having risen from modest origins to become an important industrialist decides to convert his enterprise into a worker owned cooperative. Any reader not interested the socialist debate s in the second half of the nineteenth will Hammer and Anvil excruciatingly boring.
Finally, it must be acknowledge that Spielhagen is progressive in several areas. Hammer and Anvil also contains numerous references to Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise”. His intent is clearly to show his strong approval of the emancipation of Jews which came into law in the North German Confederation in 1869 the same year that this novel was published. If it was as well written as it was well-intentioned, I would certainly give it more than 2 stars.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews