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Chad Harbach

Author of The Art of Fielding

4+ Works 4,271 Members 257 Reviews 2 Favorited

About the Author

Image credit: The Rumpus

Works by Chad Harbach

Associated Works

What We Should Have Known : Two Discussions (2007) — Contributor — 37 copies
n+1, Number Six: Mainstream (2007) 21 copies
On your Marx: Neoliberalism on the rocks — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1975
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Places of residence
Racine, Wisconsin, USA
Education
Harvard University
University of Virginia
Organizations
n+1

Members

Reviews

SPOILER:


I liked the writing around Henry's struggles with throwing the ball after hitting Owen. But the last pages and ending seemed off.
 
Flagged
brozic | 250 other reviews | Jan 27, 2024 |
I loved this and I'm not sure why I waited so long to read it - it's been on my TBR since it was published.

A story about a college baseball player and his team sounds dull but this is so much more. Friendship, love, family, expectations, pressure. is there more covered? Probably.

I felt completely invested in all the characters and wish I could pay a campus visit to Westish.

They did lose me a little bit very close to the end with one ridiculous but sentimental scene but for me the payoff there was pretty good.

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to read Moby Dick, an important book inside the book.
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Flagged
hmonkeyreads | 250 other reviews | Jan 25, 2024 |
I have practically no interest in baseball, so this is not one of my favorites right from the start. This novel is about a guy, Henry, who has a natural talent for fielding balls, and seems destined for fame and fortune once he gets through college and gets signed with a major league team. But, after his first error throw ever in a game results in severe injury for his friend and roommate Owen, his skill becomes tainted and he may never really regain his earlier perfect baseball ability. So, he collapses into a mire of self-pity, and eventually manages to start putting his life back on some sort of track.
I could certainly relate to how disorienting it is when your life's plans suddenly are over and your whole sense of self comes into question. So, from that perspective I liked this book. The secondary story about Guelf Affenlight, the college president who falls in love with a male student, the one injured by Henry's ball, adds in a homosexual element, and another angle about how people redefine themselves, and how hard it can be for people to change without running into serious societal obstacles. Pella, Affenlight's daughter, is also going through changes, but hers are within the scope of socially accepted personal development, so she finds the support and resources to get on track with her life even though her father's changed sexual identity had disastrous consequences.
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Flagged
JBarringer | 250 other reviews | Dec 15, 2023 |
I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Art of Fielding'.
While baseball is a central theme, this is certainly not a book about the sport. Rather, we are taken inside the lives and minds of five characters, and the development of them and and the story is exquisite. From love affairs to deep depression, Chad Harbach covers it all.
Is it a redemption story? Sort of, maybe.
One thing (and sorry about the spoiler here) at no stage in reading this did I expect to read about grave robbery.
 
Flagged
buttsy1 | 250 other reviews | Oct 15, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
4
Also by
3
Members
4,271
Popularity
#5,883
Rating
4.0
Reviews
257
ISBNs
49
Languages
10
Favorited
2

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