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)

Love of baseball, literature and great characters

Wonderful book about life and love of baseball, literature (Moby Dick again), and family/friends, tradition and our commitments to each other.

Part coming of age, and also an examination of what is failure. Great characters and atmosphere.

My love of baseball, literature and great characters made this book a lot of fun for me.

better to listen to than to read

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I listened to this on a lengthy car trip I was taking alone and it sure made the trip go by faster. I had been reading it while on vacation ... frankly it was better to listen to than to read!

Wonderfully engaging story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Glad to have a story this good to listen to as I walked day after day.

A little bit for everyone - Great Characters

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would personally have preferred a little less detail on the homosexual relationships. I also thought some of the character hook ups were in appropriate and detracted from the story.

What could Chad Harbach have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Less detail on the sex scenes in general (it was a little much for something that started out as a sports story).

Which scene was your favorite?

Several were very good. No single one sticks out in my mind.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Any additional comments?

I loved the characters and cheered for all of them from the moment each was introduced. They made it easy to get motivated to listen to the book.

Excellent Read

One of the best books I have listened to all year. I loved every minute of the story. It was one of those books that keeps you thinking about the story and the characters long after the closing line. Loved it!

better than it's discription

I enjoyed this book very much. had great characters and a unique plot. I love baseball, but you don't have to to love this book.

Great characters

I love novels which have varied characters and those where the author develops them so you can see them in your mind's eye. This book had those! I felt as though I was part of the story watching the events as they were told. Great listen!

We All Should Learn "The Art of Fielding"

Would you consider the audio edition of The Art of Fielding to be better than the print version?

Yes. I felt the different tones used in the audible portion help flesh out the characters more.

What did you like best about this story?

Good plot, good characters and lots to think about.

What about Holter Graham’s performance did you like?

Terrific. I loved how his voice and inflections changed according to each character. This really gave me a feel for who the character was, what he/she looked like, etc.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The death of Guert.

METAPHOR OF LIFE

In “The Art of Fielding”, Chad Harbach lures readers into the world of baseball as a metaphor of life.

To define “fielding a baseball”, for those who may not be fans, it is about handling a ball when it is thrown or hit toward you when playing a defensive position in a baseball game. In a world drawn small, “The Art of Fielding” is about playing baseball at a Midwestern American college but, in the wide world, it is about self-understanding, coping with relationships, and dealing with incidents in life.

This is a story about fielding the good and bad incidents of life. This is not a story of doom and gloom; i.e. just as in life, some people fail and some succeed. “The Art of Fielding” is an insightful novel even if one is not a baseball fan.

Enjoyable

I enjoyed it. It's very easy to dip in and out of. I feel a little half hearted about the conclusion. Good reader.