Questions About The Art of Fielding

by Chad Harbach (Goodreads Author)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Art of Fielding, please sign up.

Answered Questions (8)

tragic hits in b.b.-- how do you compare this to "A Prayer for Owen Meany"?

Disco "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is fantastic and this was too boring to finish.…more"A Prayer for Owen Meany" is fantastic and this was too boring to finish.(less)

flag

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Corey I took that to mean that Henry was not ready to make the leap into professional baseball. It felt like many of the characters, Pella and Schwartz espe…moreI took that to mean that Henry was not ready to make the leap into professional baseball. It felt like many of the characters, Pella and Schwartz especially, were struggling between what they "should" do with their lives and what they were truly ready to do. Pella wasn't ready to live the life she had in California and, fundamentally, Schwartz wasn't ready for law school. Each character had to find their own truth and by choosing to stay at Westish, Henry found the strength to decide for himself what was best. (less)

flag

I'm thinking about reading this, it's in my library. I'm wondering about the characters. Are they credible as literary figures? Do readers find themselves empathizing with them? Or are they merely the mules of the story, there pretty much just to carry the plot and not to offer any deep human elements?

Chris Zamor Rex, this book was given to me and I have to say that I only started it because I was on holiday and neglected to pack anything else. With that said, …moreRex, this book was given to me and I have to say that I only started it because I was on holiday and neglected to pack anything else. With that said, it was a real page turner for me. It could be that I have played a lot of baseball in my life, college included, but it was realistic in much of the small things that comprise your average baseball player. The stats, superstitions, and the focus on the cerebral parts of the game really struck home for me. I found the characters very interesting and well developed, which lead me to care what happened to them. It didn't hurt that several of the characters reminded me of people from my own college/playing days and it really took me on a nostalgic journey. For all of these reasons, I burned through the book in only a couple of days which meant that I had to steal time from other activities to be able to read it that quickly. I was glad that I did. (less)

flag

At the end of chapter 71, who does Dean Melkin refer to as having told him about Affenlight and Owen's affair?

Nancy Henry's parents and sister on their way to watch his game at Westish.…moreHenry's parents and sister on their way to watch his game at Westish.(less)

flag

Why does Izzy repeatedly uses the word "vendejo" instead of "pendejo"? I've never heard the use of "vendejo" before

Alline I wondered the same thing. According to urbandictionary.com "Spanish slang meaning 'dick head'. " Guess that's why we never learned it in high school …moreI wondered the same thing. According to urbandictionary.com "Spanish slang meaning 'dick head'. " Guess that's why we never learned it in high school Spanish class...
(less)

flag

Load 3 more questions