No offense to Big Papi, but we don't associate baseball with literature any more than he probably associates hockey with tap-dancing. Sure, he may have a book of his own, but it doesn't exactly look like high literature. However, these two worlds collide in The Art of Fielding, and we do mean collide quite literally, especially when Owen gets clocked in the face with a baseball while he's reading a book. Who knew reading could hurt so much?
Questions About Literature and Writing
- Why does Owen read instead of paying attention to the baseball game that he is playing in? Why doesn't the coach or anyone else try to stop him?
- What is Henry's relationship to books? What book does he read again and again, and why?
- How does Moby Dick and Herman Melville's legacy factor into The Art of Fielding?