“He stands in his leather apron, blackened by flying metal filings. His hands are huge inside his protective gloves. His dark goggles give him the eyes of a giant fly. He does not speak because his mouth and nose are covered with a breathing mask and his ears are sealed with headphones. Behind him, the door is open onto the Atlantic, but he hears nothing. He is surrounded by the extreme silence of his work and his solitude, the internal silence underneath the violent screaming of steel.”   

Extract from ‘The Forge’ by Hugo Hamilton. 2012