My Review | The Art of Fielding

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked this book right off the bat. I immediately thought of John Irving’s “A Prayer for Owen Meany,” one of my favorite books. Owen, in this book, is a baseball player named Henry, who is a can’t miss pro prospect, who loses the ability to throw accurately to first base, or anywhere for that matter. But while the book is set in the world of baseball, the story is about several characters, a couple friends, a father and daughter. The book is also set on a college campus in Wisconsin, just like me. Like half the books on my list, this book was a debut novel for author Chad Harbach, who studied English at Harvard and who makes several literary references throughout the book. I loved the slow pace, the steady build and flip on the cliched sports ending in the big game. I loved the characters, the relationships and friendships. I enjoyed reading it and couldn’t wait to get back to it. The New York Times named the book one of the ten best of 2011. Very satisfying for me.

View all my reviews