a_proud_bibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
I thought that this book was masterfully written. I have read many books that switch perspectives, but Harbach was able to do it so completely and so fully that I felt I knew they characters personally. The writing is crisp and clean and the story is compelling and unique. It inspires me to be a better writer.
csemjoro's review against another edition
5.0
The kind of book that breaks your heart over and over but makes you somehow happy about it.
readers_block's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
A fun, engaging read about the dynamics of a college baseball team and the people around them.
I found this to be entertaining but I didn't absolutely love any of the characters, which made it difficult to get very invested in the story.
A fun, engaging read about the dynamics of a college baseball team and the people around them.
I found this to be entertaining but I didn't absolutely love any of the characters, which made it difficult to get very invested in the story.
awin82's review against another edition
4.0
This is an excellent book. If not for the idiotic actions of some of the characters, the kind of actions that drive me crazy, I would have given it 5 stars. Should you tolerate fictional idiots better than I do, you'll find this book a "home run"!
jeremiah_scanlan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
For something that kept me turning pages at such late hours, I found the plot and the characters' journeys surprisingly slippery. Odd because in many ways the characters are so well drawn - except for Pella, unfortunately. A great read nonetheless, and I loved how legible yet evocative the prose was. (3/5)
el_russo's review against another edition
5.0
Numa crítica ou comentário a um livro, é normal começar por definir sobre o que ele é. Salta logo à vista que todos os livros são, quase sempre, sobre as mesmas coisas e este “A Arte de Viver à Defesa” não é excepção. Dizer que, à parte o basebol (mas que acaba por ser mais um enquadramento), é sobre amor, amizade e uma espécie de fraternidade acaba por se tornar apenas num conjunto de chavões quase automáticos em termos da definição dos eixos de qualquer livro.
Não foi por aí que o primeiro livro de Chad Harbach se tornou, pessoalmente, bastante aprazível de ler. Envolto em grande expectativa, fruto de um marketing apurado aquando do seu lançamento nos Estados Unidos em 2011, o livro foi alvo, em idênticas quantidades, de críticas positivas e negativas. Em contraponto às superficiais referências a Melville (por exemplo, como se torna patrono de Westish College ou o facto de o sobrenome de uma das personagens, Skrimshander, ser um termo usado pelo próprio Melville para designar jovens marinheiros) ou a erros no uso do narrador, foi salientada a forma natural de descrição dos cenários e de construção das personagens.
Se isso é suficiente para classificar um livro como algo a ler obrigatoriamente? Não, não é. Tal como as falhas não o tornam num livro a evitar a todo o custo. Ao longo das suas páginas, torna-se nítido que não é um clássico e que, possivelmente, também não foi escrito a pensar que se iria tornar em tal. É, isso sim, um livro que reflecte a beleza da geografia em que se enquadra (Lago Michigan, na parte situada em Wisconsin), cria uma universidade que se torna acolhedora na mente do leitor e desenvolve as personagens de uma forma familiar, fazendo com que elas continuem a habitar a imaginação depois da última página ter sido lida e o livro ter sido fechado.
Contudo, volto sempre ao mesmo: não se pode criticar um livro por ter asneiras, por as personagens terem a profundidade de uma folha de papel ou por as suas atitudes e pensamentos serem absurdamente incompreensíveis ou inacreditáveis. Há candidatos a Nobel e há, obviamente, a restante paisagem literária, de maior ou menor qualidade. Há génios e há, obviamente, o resto da população, mais ou menos inteligente.
Num espectro tão díspar, chegará a ser pedantismo afirmar que todas as personagens criadas na literatura terão de ter um comportamento digno e irrepreensível do ponto de vista moral e que qualquer livro escrito perdurará nas prateleiras e será escalpelizado eternamente em anfiteatros universitários.
“A Arte de Viver à Defesa” é um livro que cumpre a missão enquanto meio de entretenimento, muito superior a um dúbio filme de domingo à tarde. Para mim, que o li sem o conhecer e sem quaisquer expectativas, foi uma agradável surpresa. Só os grandes clássicos merecem cinco estrelas? Não.
p.s. – uma última palavra para a tradução e para a edição da Civilização, ambas de muito boa qualidade, com a primeira a ter o cuidado de não banalizar a voz do narrador e não traduzir desnecessariamente alguns termos ingleses.
Não foi por aí que o primeiro livro de Chad Harbach se tornou, pessoalmente, bastante aprazível de ler. Envolto em grande expectativa, fruto de um marketing apurado aquando do seu lançamento nos Estados Unidos em 2011, o livro foi alvo, em idênticas quantidades, de críticas positivas e negativas. Em contraponto às superficiais referências a Melville (por exemplo, como se torna patrono de Westish College ou o facto de o sobrenome de uma das personagens, Skrimshander, ser um termo usado pelo próprio Melville para designar jovens marinheiros) ou a erros no uso do narrador, foi salientada a forma natural de descrição dos cenários e de construção das personagens.
Se isso é suficiente para classificar um livro como algo a ler obrigatoriamente? Não, não é. Tal como as falhas não o tornam num livro a evitar a todo o custo. Ao longo das suas páginas, torna-se nítido que não é um clássico e que, possivelmente, também não foi escrito a pensar que se iria tornar em tal. É, isso sim, um livro que reflecte a beleza da geografia em que se enquadra (Lago Michigan, na parte situada em Wisconsin), cria uma universidade que se torna acolhedora na mente do leitor e desenvolve as personagens de uma forma familiar, fazendo com que elas continuem a habitar a imaginação depois da última página ter sido lida e o livro ter sido fechado.
Contudo, volto sempre ao mesmo: não se pode criticar um livro por ter asneiras, por as personagens terem a profundidade de uma folha de papel ou por as suas atitudes e pensamentos serem absurdamente incompreensíveis ou inacreditáveis. Há candidatos a Nobel e há, obviamente, a restante paisagem literária, de maior ou menor qualidade. Há génios e há, obviamente, o resto da população, mais ou menos inteligente.
Num espectro tão díspar, chegará a ser pedantismo afirmar que todas as personagens criadas na literatura terão de ter um comportamento digno e irrepreensível do ponto de vista moral e que qualquer livro escrito perdurará nas prateleiras e será escalpelizado eternamente em anfiteatros universitários.
“A Arte de Viver à Defesa” é um livro que cumpre a missão enquanto meio de entretenimento, muito superior a um dúbio filme de domingo à tarde. Para mim, que o li sem o conhecer e sem quaisquer expectativas, foi uma agradável surpresa. Só os grandes clássicos merecem cinco estrelas? Não.
p.s. – uma última palavra para a tradução e para a edição da Civilização, ambas de muito boa qualidade, com a primeira a ter o cuidado de não banalizar a voz do narrador e não traduzir desnecessariamente alguns termos ingleses.
mastercabs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The prose in this is nothing short of terrific. The characters are as well fleshed out as they can be (with the possible exception of Pella, honestly) if this had been on Goodreads, I'd have given it, probably, a 4 star review because, as much as I really liked this, it is not perfect. To mix words with numbers, I liked it at 4.75 but have strong feelings that it is not a 5.
I loved the narrative voice, and even though I am far from a sports guy, the descriptions of baseball did something to me that I've never experienced before - made me wistful for when I used to play with my brother. Not only that - and this is the point to which I am sticking everything - the writing is just fantastic. The characters' inner voices come ringing through in understandable ways and make us not just relate but really empathize. We all know what it is to really want something, to fear failure, to have the familiar become suddenly foreign, to be unsure of what it is that we really want. Harbach's characters come across as strong and vulnerable at the same time. That is a difficult thing to do.
As far as this not being a 5, the first thing that I'll say is that I just sort of don't really believe the ending. These are rational kids. They've been through some rough stuff. As they keep bringing up the fact that what they are doing toward the end could get them into some serious trouble, for me, it just didn't stand up with the cost/benefit of WHAT they are doing. I get why Harbach did it - I think - it's the perfect thing to unite them. But, it just doesn't stand up as something that I can see them doing.
Anyway, I did like the ending in terms of the fact that it wraps up, like an ending should, but leaves room for the reader saying, "But wait!!!" because, let's be honest, life doesn't wrap up neatly. It won't until the heat death of the universe.
I loved the narrative voice, and even though I am far from a sports guy, the descriptions of baseball did something to me that I've never experienced before - made me wistful for when I used to play with my brother. Not only that - and this is the point to which I am sticking everything - the writing is just fantastic. The characters' inner voices come ringing through in understandable ways and make us not just relate but really empathize. We all know what it is to really want something, to fear failure, to have the familiar become suddenly foreign, to be unsure of what it is that we really want. Harbach's characters come across as strong and vulnerable at the same time. That is a difficult thing to do.
As far as this not being a 5, the first thing that I'll say is that I just sort of don't really believe the ending. These are rational kids. They've been through some rough stuff. As they keep bringing up the fact that what they are doing toward the end could get them into some serious trouble, for me, it just didn't stand up with the cost/benefit of WHAT they are doing. I get why Harbach did it - I think - it's the perfect thing to unite them. But, it just doesn't stand up as something that I can see them doing.
Anyway, I did like the ending in terms of the fact that it wraps up, like an ending should, but leaves room for the reader saying, "But wait!!!" because, let's be honest, life doesn't wrap up neatly. It won't until the heat death of the universe.
hldavids's review against another edition
5.0
One late summer day Mike Schwartz and Henry Scrimshander face-off in a league baseball play-off. It is this meeting that ultimately leads to Scrimshander joining Schwartz at Westish College to play D-III baseball. Anyone who has ever been involved with D-III sports knows that it is the love of the sport, not the quest for glory, that sustains D-III players. The same is true at Westish. But with Dunne and Starblind added to the Westish team, the team does appear to be glory bound. But when tragedy strikes the team injuring the teams "Buddha" and putting their star-player off his game, their glory road veers off track. On top of that, scandal rocks the presidential office. Can Schwartz, the man who brought this dream-team together, prevail and bring his team to a division championship?
Forbidden love, baseball, an eating disorder, if I pull this novel out by its small parts and plotlines no one understands my praise. It sounds like a bad teen angst drama:( Yet it is the ultimate bildungsroman and so much more. I have been touting this novel to all who will listen as the next, great-American novel.
Forbidden love, baseball, an eating disorder, if I pull this novel out by its small parts and plotlines no one understands my praise. It sounds like a bad teen angst drama:( Yet it is the ultimate bildungsroman and so much more. I have been touting this novel to all who will listen as the next, great-American novel.
hldavids's review against another edition
5.0
One late summer day Mike Schwartz and Henry Scrimshander face-off in a league baseball play-off. It is this meeting that ultimately leads to Scrimshander joining Schwartz at Westish College to play D-III baseball. Anyone who has ever been involved with D-III sports knows that it is the love of the sport, not the quest for glory, that sustains D-III players. The same is true at Westish. But with Dunne and Starblind added to the Westish team, the team does appear to be glory bound. But when tragedy strikes the team injuring the teams "Buddha" and putting their star-player off his game, their glory road veers off track. On top of that, scandal rocks the presidential office. Can Schwartz, the man who brought this dream-team together, prevail and bring his team to a division championship?
Forbidden love, baseball, an eating disorder, if I pull this novel out by its small parts and plotlines no one understands my praise. It sounds like a bad teen angst drama:( Yet it is the ultimate bildungsroman and so much more. I have been touting this novel to all who will listen as the next, great-American novel.
Forbidden love, baseball, an eating disorder, if I pull this novel out by its small parts and plotlines no one understands my praise. It sounds like a bad teen angst drama:( Yet it is the ultimate bildungsroman and so much more. I have been touting this novel to all who will listen as the next, great-American novel.
gohawks's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. Not sure if I can qualify it as a classic, but I like it just as much as The Great Gatsby which I just read. The writing is very good, beautiful prose. The characters are memorable, fascinating people. It has everything I love to read about in a book: sports (without being too technical for those who don't care), college setting, and unforgettable characters. I will say that the ending is a bit implausible given the set up, but I immediately forgave the author because of my love for the characters. Many reviews on this site have said there is no plot. Though it takes a bit to develop, there is definitely a plot - a few in fact. A team's attempt for a championship, a couple of love stories, a young man learning his craft. All of these are resolved with satisfaction, and they do not just provide wallpaper for characters. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves the three ingredients I listed above.