Latest Review: The Art of Fielding

Goodreads Summary:
At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

... (spoilery so I omitted this part)

Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment—to oneself and to others.

My Thoughts:  
This was one of my vacation reads and I absolutely adored this book!  My admiration of The Art of Fielding is largely due to the realistic characters with an authentic storyline.  One way to compare it would be that it is similar to an indie movie (not one of those ones that's trying too hard but one that is trying to be true to life).

I loved the multiple POV format of this book.  When I first started reading, I thought it would all be from Henry's point of view and was afraid the only way the story could be this long (528 pages) is if it were overly dramatic.  Luckily my fears were soon relieved.  I also thought that the over-arching theme of self-doubt was handled really well with this story and was enhanced by the multiple POV format.

If you love Melville, enjoy collegiate settings, or are a baseball fan you will be over-the-moon about this book.  If you aren't, you will still love this book for the clear writing style and amazing characters!

To conclude, I'll leave you with this quote from my favorite character Owen:

“You told me once that a soul isn't something a person is born with but something that must be built, by effort and error, study and love.” 

5/5 stars.  Highly recommended.

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