The Art of Fielding

The Art of Fielding (2011) by Chad Harbach. The Art of Fielding is a novel that is more about people than about baseball, but baseball plays a key role. Henry Skrimshander is a shortstop, and the book revolves around him. He has a natural talent that inexplicably deserts him halfway through the book, when he starts overthinking his throws to first. He is recruited to Westish College by Mike Schwartz, a talented motivator who happens to see Henry playing one day during his senior year of high school. Intertwined with the lives of Henry and Mike are the lives of Guert Affenlight, president of Westish College; Affenlight's daughter, Pella; and Henry's roommate Owen Dunne, an openly gay member of the baseball squad with whom President Affenlight falls in love. I found this to be a highly readable book, involving and enjoyable all the way, except for the pain a reader naturally feels when a superman like Henry loses his powers. The love affair between Guert and Owen seemed a little forced, since Affenlight had been a heterosexual for all of his 60 years up till then, but I decided it might be possible. The book ends on a positive note, and I think it is a book I will remember. Grade: B+