Chad Harbach

I loved this and I'm not sure why I waited so long to read it - it's been on my TBR since it was published.

A story about a college baseball player and his team sounds dull but this is so much more. Friendship, love, family, expectations, pressure. is there more covered? Probably.

I felt completely invested in all the characters and wish I could pay a campus visit to Westish.

They did lose me a little bit very close to the end with one ridiculous but sentimental scene but for me the payoff there was pretty good.

Now I'm trying to decide if I want to read Moby Dick, an important book inside the book.… (mais)

In diesem Buch geht es um fünf Menschen, die sich am Westish College in Wisconsin begegnen und eine Baseball-Saison:
Henry Skrimshander ist ein begnadeter Baseballspieler, der durch sein Talent aus der Provinz auf dieses College geholt wird.
Mike Schwartz ist sein Mentor, ein mittelloser Student, der für den Sport lebt.
Owen Dunne ist Henrys schwuler und intellektueller Mitbewohner.
Guert Affenlight ist der Rektor des Colleges, der sich in Owen verliebt.
Seine 23-jährige Tochter Pella kehrt nach gescheiterter Ehe nach Westish zurück.
Ich mochte das Buch, aber in die allgegenwärtigen Lobeshymnen konnte ich nicht einstimmen. Das liegt vielleicht auch daran, dass ich Baseball nicht verstehe, auch wenn ich schon ein Spiel gesehen habe. Die Personen sind gut gemacht und ihre Beziehungen untereinander interessant. Insgesamt hätte etwas Straffung dem Buch dennoch nicht geschadet.… (mais)

I have practically no interest in baseball, so this is not one of my favorites right from the start. This novel is about a guy, Henry, who has a natural talent for fielding balls, and seems destined for fame and fortune once he gets through college and gets signed with a major league team. But, after his first error throw ever in a game results in severe injury for his friend and roommate Owen, his skill becomes tainted and he may never really regain his earlier perfect baseball ability. So, he collapses into a mire of self-pity, and eventually manages to start putting his life back on some sort of track.
I could certainly relate to how disorienting it is when your life's plans suddenly are over and your whole sense of self comes into question. So, from that perspective I liked this book. The secondary story about Guelf Affenlight, the college president who falls in love with a male student, the one injured by Henry's ball, adds in a homosexual element, and another angle about how people redefine themselves, and how hard it can be for people to change without running into serious societal obstacles. Pella, Affenlight's daughter, is also going through changes, but hers are within the scope of socially accepted personal development, so she finds the support and resources to get on track with her life even though her father's changed sexual identity had disastrous consequences.
… (mais)