The Art of Fielding is Not About Baseball

Well, that's not quite true. It IS about baseball in a very general sense. It is also about friendship and coming of age and about the need to form close relationships. Henry Skrimshander is a baseball star for Westish College until a throw goes astray. This title has received rave reviews from sources as different as James Patterson, who referred to it as something that "appear out of nowhere and then dazzles and bewitches and inspires until you nearly lose your breath from the enjoyment and satisfaction"; Sports Illustrated that said "The book will knock out baseball and literature fans alike." and The New York Times that said "not only a wonderful baseball novel--it zooms immediately into the pantheon of classics, alongside The Natural by Bernard Malamud and The Southpaw by Mark Harris--but it's also a magical, melancholy story about friendship and the coming of age that marks the debut of an immensely talented writer." Obviously a must read for those who enjoy character studies.