Discussion Questions

Monomania” – the obsessive pursuit of a single thing – is one of the major themes of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Is it also a major theme of The Art of Fielding? If so, for which characters, and in what ways?

Consider the title of Harbach’s book and the inclusion of Aparicio Rodriguez’s The Art of Fielding as a book within the novel. According to Aparicio: “There are three stages: Thoughtless being. Thought. Return to thoughtless being.” He adds: “Thoughtless being is attained by everyone, the return to thoughtless being by a very few.” What do you think this means? How does it relate to Chad Harbach’s book?

After a long streak of errorless games, why does Henry lose his once-effortless throw? What has changed in Henry? Do you think this sort of crisis is unique to athletics? Could, say, a painter go through a similar crisis?

Mike devotes much of his time and energy to mentoring and helping Henry. Does he give Henry too much of his time and energy? What does this cost Mike?

After hitting Owen and losing his accuracy, Henry immerses himself in grueling physical activity: running the stadium steps, racing Starblind, doing endless chin-ups, swimming in the lake. Why does he do this? Is his body to blame for his throwing problems? Discuss the relationship between the body and the mind in The Art of Fielding.

The athletes talk about sacrificing their bodies to get better, and the “sacrifice bunt” is a baseball term that comes up frequently. Is Henry sacrificing himself when he stops eating? Why? Is his last at bat a sacrifice?

When Affenlight is confronted about his relationship with Owen, he thinks: “What kind of conversation would they be having if Owen were a girl? Bruce would be using the same legalese, the expression on his face would still be stern, but he’d be pouring himself a scotch. The gleam in his eye would say, Good for you, Guert. Still got it, eh?” Do you think this is true? Would you have seen Guert differently?

It has been said that baseball is a metaphor for life. Do you agree? Why or why not?

(Questions based on those provided by the publisher of The Art of Fielding)