The Art of Fielding

A Novel

By: Chad Harbach

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A disastrous error on the field sends five lives into a tailspin in this award-nominated tale about love, life, and baseball.

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners' team captain and Henry's best friend, realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert's daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment - to oneself and to others.

©2011 Chad Harbach (P)2011 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Reading The Art of Fielding is like watching a hugely gifted young shortstop: you keep waiting for the errors, but there are no errors. First novels this complete and consuming come along very, very seldom." (Jonathan Franzen)

"Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding is one of those rare novels - like Michael Chabon's Mysteries of Pittsburgh or John Irving's The World According to Garp - that seems to appear out of nowhere and then dazzles and bewitches and inspires until you nearly lose your breath from the enjoyment and satisfaction, as well as the unexpected news-blast that the novel is very much alive and well." (James Patterson)

"Chad Harbach has hit a game-ender with The Art of Fielding. It's pure fun, easy to read, as if the other Fielding had a hand in it - as if Tom Jones were about baseball and college life." (John Irving)

Potential to write a better book is there

I read this book at the recommendation of a friend who loved it but it never really caught on for me or touched me in a way that got me really engaged. There are passages of the book that show evidence of a writer developing inside, but the delivery is not up to the potential. There are good characters in the story, but they are not fully developed at the level of a mature novelist and there's some hat-tipping and insider literary signposts that are cute but are more of a 'wink' at the reader than a substantive anchor for the story. I was able to read through to the end, partially because there was enough promise in the story to hold my attention, but not enough to make me want to stay there. The female characters were expecially weak. I will say there is quite a lot of heart in the telling. But the story left me unsatisfied on so many levels I wish I hadn't started out with such high expectations. When books like this get rave reviews, I'm not certain it's always a help for an author or the reader.

Also, the narration left something to be desired. Although clear and easy to follow which character was speaking, too many of the male characters had palid effeminate voices that didn't suit, such as the way the narrator read Henry's words. It really set you off in an entirely different direction on the character of Henry than the one who was being portrayed.

All that said I was glad I finished the book and I expect someday this author will produce a more mature and less self conscious work. I would only recommend the book to those who like campus novels or tales that mix sports and literature.

Beware: iPod Freezer!

Any additional comments?

Long time Audible member & never had a problem before. But this download repeatedly froze my iPod. I tried downloading again, and then downloading at lower quality. Nothing worked. Had to get a refund on this one. And I really was enjoying the story a lot!

More then a baseball story

Would you listen to The Art of Fielding again? Why?

This was an enjoyable story. I was pleasantly surprised with the back story in the book. I'm a big baseball fan and chose it because of the baseball theme that the title suggests. Lots of twists. It's a modern story that was well described. I like to listen to a book a second time because there are times when my mind wanders. Not because of the narrator but because I listen to books all the time when I'm driving in the car.

You should read this book

An outstanding piece of fiction by a relatively new author. The characters are very compelling combined with a great story.

Just average for me

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It needed more of a plot. The story line dragged too much

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending did not really seem like the logical conclusion of the story. I thought the author was trying too hard to give the reader a surprise ending.

What does Holter Graham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Holter Graham did an excellent job with the narration of the story. If I had not heard this on Audible, I would have put the book down long b4 the end.

Did The Art of Fielding inspire you to do anything?

Sorry, no.

Loved it

Do not have to be a baseball fan to love this book. It will bring out all you emotions.

Enjoyable and rich

A dusty baseball field in a podunk town and two men???s fates collide. Sound familiar? The stage may be familiar, but the story is not.
Harbach delivers a well written story with an interesting foray into some classic American literature as a backdrop. The unsuspecting Henry is noticed by Schwartz and from that turn of the head, that one minute of pause to watch something that caught the edge of his attention, lives are changed. Henry???s working class family is not impressed with Henry???s announcement that he will be playing college ball. Another encounter, this one taken with purpose in mind changes the attitude of Henry???s father. Henry is off to college in a rather unprepared whirlwind.
It is a story of many friendships, many loves, many families and how the warp and weave of their lives make the fabric of the story. The ending is not pat or easy. The characters were believable and interesting.
It is a good story. Worthy on its own as a really decent piece of literature and as a baseball story, the book delivers a good read.

Great in many ways, but one fatal flaw

The performance is terrific -- even with a lot of dialog, the reader does an excellent job of providing each character with a personality that enhances the author's perspective. Very well done.

The story is in almost all ways excellent, but there's one relationship that struck me as so far-fetched as to weaken -- in a meaningful way -- the story's overall impact and credibility. I don't want to provide spoilers, so I won't write any more, but this relationship was so repeatedly jarring that it colors my overall impression of the book and moves it from excellent to very good.

Oh, and don't worry if you're not a baseball fan. It starts off as though baseball is the centerpiece, but it's merely a vehicle for telling a character-driven story.

Wonderful!

This is a great book, even for those not particularly interested in baseball. The narrator is excellent.

I wanted to see what happened to the characters...

I wish that the relationship between Schwartzie and Henry had matured more during the time of Henry's melt down. They could of done so much more for each other. Great characters and I stayed up too late to finish!