The Art of Fielding

The Art of Fielding was widely praised upon its release in 2011. Its exploration of themes of masculinity, identity politics, friendship, and perfectionism within the context of a liberal arts college’s baseball team imbues a sports narrative with intellectual and emotional complexity. However, Harbach received some criticism for the text’s portrayal of gender and race.

Much of the praise centered on the prose and the depth of Harbach’s characters. The New York Times called it a “rich, warmhearted novel” and named it one of its 10 Best Books of 2011. It was also shortlisted for The Guardian’s First Book Award. Harbach’s Harvard education and background as a cofounder of the magazine n+1 positioned him within the literary elite, which contributed to the book’s positive reception.

An article in Vanity Fair, written by one of Harbach’s college friends, offers a biographical look at Harbach’s writing process, the novel’s publication process, and how global warming, the 2008 recession, and his involvement in New York literary circles influenced him (Gessen, Keith. “The Book on Publishing.” Vanity Fair, Oct. 2011). This article was critiqued by a piece in The Atlantic, which describes The Art of Fielding as overly hyped and suggests that its success was more a result of Harbach’s connections than the novel’s merit (Myers, B. R. “A Swing and a Miss.” The Atlantic, May 2012).

Critics differed about the extent to which the novel represents a divergence from traditional, patriarchal literary tropes versus embracing them. While Owen challenges traditional notions of masculinity as an openly gay baseball player, his sexuality sometimes feels as if it’s a mere plot device. Additionally, the novel’s depiction of female characters is somewhat underdeveloped; the novel fails the Bechdel Test since the only conversations between female characters are about male characters. Indeed, Pella’s act of washing dishes as redemption reinforces traditional gender norms.