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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.

The Slippage
By Ben Greenman
(Harper Perennial, Paperback, 9780061990519, April 2013, 288pp.)

The Short of It:

A fractured, splintered view of a marriage in decline.

The Rest of It:

When I first saw the title of this book I was immediately reminded of California earthquake faults and how they slip and slide every ten years to give us a good jolt of reality. Oddly enough, that’s kinda what this book is about. Marriage, on the brink of disaster and how the fissures eventually become full-on cracks if you let them run their course.

William and Louisa Day live in suburban bliss. Nice house, great neighborhood, interesting neighbors. One afternoon, while hosting one of his famous parties, William realizes that Louisa hasn’t come out to greet their guests. After trying to juggle his meet and greet duties along with cooking the food they are about to eat he goes in search of Louisa and finds her locked in their junk room. Forced to talk to her through the door, she seems okay but refuses to come out and only comes out after her drunk brother shows up and causes quite the scene.

Shortly after the party, Louisa tells William that she’s bought a plot of land and wants him to build her a new house. This innocent and somewhat far-fetched request triggers introspection but when an old flame of William’s moves into their neighborhood and rekindles what they started long ago, William’s not really sure what he wants.

The book opens with the party scene and within just a few pages, I was hooked. William is one of those funny, sarcastic guys that people don’t really pay attention to. His humor, if you can call it that, inserts itself innocently but the people on the other side of it rarely pick-up on his sarcasm. As he plods through life, you willingly follow along because although he’s a cheater and seems clueless about what his wife wants, he’s somehow more human than say the “suits” that he has to deal with at work or the guy next door or down the street.

As much as I love stories like this one, I had some trouble with Louisa. In one sense, she appears to be the voice of reason but her odd behavior, hiding behind closed doors and hoarding junk mail made me wonder if she was a little off. The other thing that bothered me is that William and Louisa hardly interact at all. Their interactions are short and abbreviated and her comments about anything had a throwaway quality to them. As if she was saying them just to say something. Perhaps, that is what a marriage in decline is like, but there was no heat… no tension. I expected there to be lots of it given the fact that their marriage was on the line. To me, they were looking at each other through a broken mirror. Their images greatly exaggerated and skewed.

After finishing the book, I concluded that all the women in the book seemed a little off. I couldn’t relate to any of them and found myself relating more to William which surprised me. As negative as that may sound, I still enjoyed the book quite a bit. Greenman’s take on suburbia was spot on. That party scene alone won me over and the wry humor made what could have been a very depressing novel, somewhat comical.

It’s not perfect, but what marriage is? If you’re like me and want to read something a little different this summer, give this one a try. It will give you a lot to think about.

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

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