The Art of Fielding: A Novel for eBook Reader
Posted on | December 19, 2011 | No Comments
The Art of Fielding A Novel for eBook Reader
5Star: Comment for The Art of Fielding: A Novel
I understand the criticisms of this story but I was enthralled, maybe because I worked at colleges, covered sports and still advise college students. I found Mike Schwartz’s character the most interesting, in his intelligence coupled with career confusion and his realizing he has spent more time directing others than himself. President Affenlight’s discoveries about himself rang true, as did all of the five main characters’ complicated lives, even if the outcomes for them were possibly a bit too neat. The writing was wonderful, clear and interesting, and the author pulled me into this world he created.
4Star: Comment for The Art of Fielding: A Novel
Very well written, good mix of sports and real life. Although it took Harbach 10 years to write this book; I still was a bit disappointed in the ending – I wanted it to go on and on. Can’t wait till they make a movie out of it.
3Star: Comment for The Art of Fielding: A Novel
Really, the book kept me entertained enough, even if it slowed to a grinding pace around the middle. The plot is well-executed, it’s charmingly quaint, and it’s a good way to kill a few hours. I don’t wish I had the time back, which is a good sign.
That said, as a novel, it’s pretty mediocre. There’s an opportunity to knock off about 100 pages – it really just sags in the middle. And even given the amount of time that is spent with 5 characters, the characters are maddeningly shallow. You have the gay guy who talks like a pretentious tosser the entire time. The president who is repeatedly noted to be old, but handsome. The athletic stalwart who’s had a hardscrabble life. The woman who has been bathed in comfort since birth. And the baseball phenom. The bit players (Starblind, Meat, Izzy) are almost more fleshed out than the core characters are.
That’s more or less the entirety of characterization given to the five most important characters in the novel. Actually, that’s not entirely fair – the gay student is also half-black. If Harbach had taken a fraction of the time he spent slyly making Moby Dick references to developing the characters, the book could easily have been 5 stars.
The lack of character development was fine at first, but about halfway through, decisions start being made that would be completely odd if made by a normal person. If there were motivation that would inform the reader as to why this is being done, that would be fine, even interesting. But instead, it creates an artificial suspense because you quite literally have no idea what that person is capable of.
The exception to the plot’s competence is that it does fall flat on its face at the end, and it winds up with a deus ex machina to tie things up neatly. But that’s easier to forgive.
If you’re a D-III baseball fan, you’re going to be well-served by this book. But don’t buy into the hype around this book: It’s simply not the “Skrimmer” of the year in literature that people seem to make it out to be.
2Star: Comment for The Art of Fielding: A Novel
This book was disappointing to the point where I simply gave up. I likened it at first to novel I had read many years ago called “My Name Is Christopher Nagle”,but it simply didn’t hold up.
1Star: Comment for The Art of Fielding: A Novel
The man writes well enough, but his story and characters are poorly conceived and, at times, unintentionally ridiculous. I finished it, but was angered by the potential squandered in its pages.
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