The Art of Fielding – Chad Harbach
100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: [adapted from the dustjacket] At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.
Expectation: A “sports bro” book full of men suppressing emotions.
Reality: A contender for the modern “Great American Novel,” I was surprised by the depth of character development and the queer subplot.
Recommended For: Fans of Midwest-set books (like those by Nathan Hill and J. Ryan Stradel) with memorable characters and, of course, sports.
Why I Read It: It had been on my TBR list for over three years and was nearly universally loved by friends and acquaintances.
My Take:
It’s interesting to tackle an insanely popular book long after the fervor has died down, because you can enjoy an uninfluenced, hype-free reading experience while also plotting how perspectives of the novel have changed since publication.
Released in 2011, “The Art of Fielding” became a literary phenomenon along with its author, Chad Harbach. Within two years of publication, it was alternately heralded as the next “Great American Novel” and accused of plagiarism.
Throughout the 2010s, criticism from coastal press continued but, to me, these take downs read more like sour grapes from writers jealous their own long-gestating stories had yet to be published.
Still, at the close of the last decade “Fielding” didn’t land on too many “best of” lists. As of 2022, Reese hasn’t made a big budget adaptation and Harbach has yet to publish another novel.
But why is this all important? Because the benefit of hindsight shows us that Harbach’s trajectory isn’t dissimilar to that of his main character, Henry Skrimshander, the once wunderkind who, quite literally, throws away his chance for fame and fortune. Yes, I realize I’m projecting since I don’t know Harbach personally, but I’m truly surprised this is all we have from him.
“Fielding” is a work of extraordinary, interwoven storytelling. It’s the type of book that makes you sad when reading it, because you know you’ll never experience it for the first time again.
Few are the novels that feel fully realized from the first chapter, but that’s what we have here. Harbach doesn’t kill you with every detail upfront to make you care, rather he uses each of those 500+-pages to peel back layers that propel the narrative forward.
I’m a sucker for character-driven stories and “Fielding” is that to a tee. A lot happens, and yet it all feels organic, if only a tad unbelievable. Even though it started to feel long in the middle, I finished it in four days — the definition of a page-turner.
I can fully understand why some people dislike this novel. There’s some pretentiousness in the delivery and a little bloat, yet those are minor criticisms when the sum of its parts — specifically, the overall fantastic development of five characters of various ages and backgrounds — is so rich.
Because this has been out in the world for so long, I won’t rehash the plots or characters in detail, but I do want to call attention to a few things that surprised me and will stick with me:
The queer plot — I had no idea that a gay romance was going to feature so heavily in the story. Guert, the sixty-something Westish College president, falls in love with senior baseball player, Owen. I kept waiting for it to feel cringeworthy, but instead it is a nuanced exploration of aging and desirability that raises questions about power and ethics. While I wouldn’t consider this a queer novel, the representation is done with care.
Relationship dynamics — Guert and Owen are an interesting portrayal of a May-December romance where the power dynamic is flipped. Owen, being out and more sexually experienced, holds significant sway over Guert who, for successful as he has been professionally, is incredibly insecure in his first same-sex relationship. On the flipside, Guert’s early 20s daughter, Pella, is estranged from her older husband, David, who gaslighted her into a shell of her former self. Seeing how Harbach handled the dichotomy of these two couples was fascinating. The single best section of the novel was Ch. 42, where Pella and David hash out their indignations over dinner. The verbal ping pong brings forward palpable unease in the reader as they detail years of resentment, lies and doubt.
Male friendship — The friendship between Harry and Mike — equal parts co-dependent and competitive — is realistic. Rarely do you see a platonic friendship played out like you do here. Neither of them harbors a secret romantic desire, but they love and respect each other deeply, while, at times, resenting one another. Their relationship shows how fraught early adulthood can be for men raised with stereotypical ideas of what a “man” should be, and it illustrates the dangers in being too proud to ask for help.
Higher education — As someone who did a brief stint in higher education, I loved the subtle ways Harbach tears down the ivory tower and exposes it for the smoke and mirrors sham it has become. The Herman Melville subplot, faux advocacy and perfectly curated academic personas exemplify why there is a reckoning in the industry today.
The Midwest — For as heavy as the novel is at times, it’s also oddly comforting in large part due to its Upper Midwest setting. Anyone who has spent time in the region will recognize these characters and locations. Harbach wrote Westish as almost another character, and I can imagine the sunrises, the smell of the air coming of Lake Michigan and the sound of baseball echoing through the campus. It is simple, gorgeous and immersive writing that added an additional layer of charm to an already great novel.
If you’ve been on the fence about reading this one, I highly recommend the audiobook. Holter Graham’s narration isn’t a home run — more like a triple play — but he excelled at dialing up the emotion and creating excitement during the baseball sections. Outside of Owen and Henry, there wasn’t much differentiation amongst the characters — a missed opportunity.
This will easily go down as one of my favorite reads of 2022. I cannot wait for it to (maybe) end up on a screen, or at the very least, for Harbach to grace us with another novel that weaves such a tapestry.
Rating (story): 4.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5 stars
Formats: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: July 16 – July 20, 2022
Multi-tasking: Okay. The story is easy to follow, but if you aren’t paying close attention you’ll miss the glorious nuance that Harbach brings to the characters as we learn more about them.
