Books: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011)

On the eastern side of Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Michigan, lays Westish College. It’s a small liberal arts school, more known for, it seems, Herman Melville and Moby Dick, than baseball. Still, it is here where baseball phenom Henry Skrimshander arrives on a full ride based on the Harpooners team captain’s Mike Schwartz’s recommendation. The Harpooners have never won a championship in over the 100 years of existence, and Schwartz sees the potential in Henry. And through Henry, Mike sees a way out of failure. Which is what, essentially, frames this novel. 

Doc Hammer and Christopher McCulloch, who created the cult animated series The Venture Bros. on the Cartoon Network, have often spoke about the fact that their parody of Jonny Quest was about failure, that the series was about the “failure (that) happens to all of us.” And in The Art of Fielding there is one epic choke, and then a host of failures that are caught in its wake.

The choker is Henry, who has been a flawless at shortstop, the sheer definition of perfection. Mike Schwartz knows he’s headed for the major-leagues contract; big-time scouts and agents are starting to hover. But then...something happens. Henry's brain betrays him. He loses confidence, botching even the most routine throws. He has no idea why, and nothing seems to help. His anxiety grows more as scouts and agents begin to hover around, hearing of his legend. But even Schwartz, studying to be a lawyer, is discovering that his failure to get into graduate school is tied up with Henry’s future, which makes the badly body-damaged senior try even more to get Henry out of his funk. Then there is fellow baseball player Owen, who is a gay, biracial student whom his teammates have nicknamed “Buddha.” Owen spends most of the time on the bench, a book light wedged to the bill of his cap reading, mostly philosophy. A bad throw by Henry injures Owen, which opens the door to more of the young man’s issues, but also allows the College President, Guert Affenlight, longtime bachelor with a grown daughter, to finally express his love for Owen –one which obviously must be kept quiet. And finally, the prodigal daughter, Pella, arrives at Westish. While she arrives with only a purse, the baggage of her failed marriage in San Francisco will soon catch up with her.

It goes without saying, that one might want to pick-up Moby Dick and get a refresher course on Harbach’s themes. But The Art of Fielding is no more about baseball than it is about Herman Melville, but having a working knowledge of both might enhance the enjoyment of the book. Still, I find the obsession with perfection and the driving force that can sometimes drive people mad, very interesting. Each character is at a crossroads, and they need each other to decide where they’ll go from maelstrom that is currently affecting them. But, as always, no book is perfect. And while The Art of Fielding is nearly flawless, its characters are not fully realized, and the ending to just too tidy and Hollywoodish for my taste. Still, the prose is strong and the humor more organic than sitcom. I’ve read that HBO has acquired the rights to the book, and is adapting it into a series. Pretty impressive for a debut author.