The Art of Fielding

by Chad Harbach

Book Overview

A disastrous error on the field sends five lives into a tailspin in this widely acclaimed tale about love, life, and baseball, praised by the New York Times as "wonderful...a novel that is every bit as entertaining as it is affecting."

Named one of the year's best books by the New York Times, NPR, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316126675
• ISBN13: 9780316126670
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Deep Reflection on Change and Life

You don't have to love baseball to enjoy “The Art of Fielding” by Chad Harbach, but it helps. Ultimately, this is a book about the struggle to balance work and play, and the challenges of early adulthood when our hobbies start carrying more responsibility and obligation. Though centered on baseball, it's really about those formative college years when we strive to separate ourselves from our parents and childhood, discovering who we are as adults, and deciding what to hold onto, let go of, and pursue. The novel follows Henry, whose talent initially goes unnoticed but then shines in his first two years of college, and how he handles the ensuing pressure. With a rich cast of characters and deep reflections on age, the novel echoes the recurring cycle of reevaluating our place and desires throughout different life stages. It prompts us to question and reflect on our own lives, marking it as a thought-provoking and transformative read.

Heart wrenching and poignant

I thought I wouldn’t like a baseball book, but this one captured me body and soul. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book where I still clutch my chest and think about a set of characters in bittersweet memory. Absolutely fantastic.