Book Review | Book Chatter

The Art of Fielding
By Chad Harbach
(Back Bay Books, Paperback, 9780316126670, May 2012, 544pp.)

The Short of It:

To say this debut novel is about baseball, would be a gross understatement.

The Rest Of It:

Henry Skrimshander is a quiet boy with one heck of an arm. Destined for greatness, he is invited to play baseball at Westish College but after one wild pitch and the injury that resulted from it, he becomes paralyzed with fear every time he steps onto the field. Also affected are the four people he’s gotten to know while playing ball. Guert Affenlight, the college president, his daughter Pella, and his teammates Owen Dunne and Mike Schwartz are all tangled up in Henry’s world as they struggle to find their place.

I received a review copy of this long before it was released for publication, but as gorgeous as that copy was, it did not survive when my daughter accidentally dumped a bottle of water onto it while in the car. And did I mention that she didn’t tell me about it until three days later when it was a pulpy mess? Yeah. I tried to dry it out but the pages were stuck together and then when I checked it out from the library, I had to return it unread because I never could find the right time to read it. I mean, it was about baseball right?

Yes, and no. The Art of Fielding centers around baseball, but there is more to the story than just playing ball. It wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of readers avoided this one because they thought they’d have to know a lot about the game to follow it (you don’t) or that it would be about manly men with attitudes and a bone to pick (it’s not). It’s a tender, sweet story about friendship and love and figuring out where you fit in. As Henry attempts to find his way, the others come along for the ride and figure out things about themselves that perhaps they’d never be forced to face had Henry not entered the scene.

I really enjoyed this one and reading it now, after it’s been out for so long, I have to say that it never felt like a debut novel to me. Harbach’s grasp of his characters is swift and self-assured and the writing is straight-forward and alive. It’s incredibly readable and I think that’s important to note given its length (500+ pages). It’s one of those feel-good novels that you seek out every now and then and we all need more of those. I highly recommend it.

Note from Ti: I also listened to a portion of this on audio and it was also very good.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Bellman & Black
By Diane Setterfield
(Atria/Emily Bestler Books, Hardcover, 9781476711959, October 8, 2013, 224pp.)
*No Spoilers*

The Short of It:

Highly anticipated but absolutely NOT what it appears to be.

The Rest of It:

The Thirteenth Tale, published in 2006 was one of those sleeper success stories that you hear about. A quiet tale, well written and haunting with vivid imagery. It was a book to cozy up to and I loved it. I think I told everyone I knew about it and they all agreed that it was fabulous. We could not wait for her next book, but year after year passed and no word on whether she’d ever write another.

Enter, Bellman & Black.

The book officially comes out on October 8th but when I received the ARC, I literally jumped up and down and stroked the cover no less than three times. First, I received the e galley which was great, but then I received the gorgeous paperback and it took my breath away. Such a gorgeous cover. I couldn’t resist it. Who could? I dove right in.

As a young boy, William Bellman shoots and kills a young bird with his slingshot. This act comes back to haunt him as an adult as the image of the bird, falling to the ground, is replayed over and over in his mind. Not sure of its meaning, Bellman makes a conscious decision to push it out of his mind and forge ahead with business which is where his passions lie. At one point, he has it all, a loving wife and family, the success of his business and the promise of more good things to come.

But then, everything changes. What was once good, becomes tragic as Bellman slowly loses those around him. In a desperate attempt to save what he has, he makes a deal. One that cannot be reversed and has horrible consequences.

As a story, it’s ALL been done before. The parts about his business, funeral wear, were somewhat novel in nature, but Setterfield never explores the grief felt by the town as Bellman cashes in on the unfortunate death of others. His love for his daughter is a tad superficial and as a reader, we never get to know Dora all that well. Her role is to be the constant reminder of all that’s gone wrong and little else. Yawn.

With every page, I kept waiting for the ghost story to begin and when I hit those last thirty pages, I realized that it would never happen. Is it a ghost story? Technically, yes, but while you’re reading it you will argue that it’s not because it doesn’t feel like one. It’s not chilling, or haunting or suspenseful in any way. There is no real “setting” and if you read The Thirteenth Tale, you may recall how very atmospheric the writing was. Well, you won’t get that here no matter how hard you look for it.

I thought carefully about how to say this, but this book was a huge disappointment. Forget that I had high hopes for it. The blurbs that I saw early on really made me think this was a classic ghost story. I’ve since checked the blurbs again and now they seem much more on par with what it’s about, but still. If you are looking for a classic ghost story this fall, this is not it. However, I highly recommend her first book, The Thirteenth Tale as it still remains one of my faves to this day.