Book Review: The Art of Fielding

A quick run inside an airport bookstore during my trip to Lake Tahoe, CA resulted in my picking up Chad Harbach's first piece of fiction, The Art of Fielding. I had seen the book over and over again in bookstores but never really looked into what it was about. Imagining a few plane rides and a week out west with nothing to read, I quickly snapped it up.

The story focuses on a small, fictional college in the midwest called Westish and the college baseball team, the Harpooners. Enter Mike Schwarz, a sophomore who lives and breathes Westish athletics and is determined as the catcher of the baseball team and the rising team captain to give the team a winning season. He recruits freshperson Henry Skrimshander, a shortstop with  amazing potential and devotes his collegiate career to molding and shaping Skrimshander.  The book also centers on Henry's freshperson roommate, Owen Dunne, a scholarship recipient and environmentalist and Pella Affenlight, the daughter of the esteemed, college President who returns to Westish to repair her broken relationship with her father and escape a failed marriage. The final, central character at the heart of the book is Guert Affenlight, a Westish alum, the college's President, who embarks down a dangerous path engaging in an affair with one of the students.

The Art of Fielding follows these five characters throughout their journeys at Westish. From athletics and academics, hook ups and affairs, to the roller coaster ride of trying to find yourself and forge a new path,  the 500+ page novel weaves an engaging and engrossing story. As a student affairs professional, I was particularly drawn to the book's setting, a college campus, and really enjoyed it. I definitely recommend the read if you're looking for something this summer that will invite you in and take you on a ride. I was sad to close the book last night and only wish there were a sequel.

Cheers.