The title of the novel The Art of Fielding refers to a fictional book the main character Henry Skrimshander holds dear: a how-to-manual by Henry’s baseball hero Aparicio Rodriguez. The meaning of the title in both situations—the literal how-to field a baseball one and the more figurative that gets at how one deals with (or fields) the situations life present you with—is important in the book. Both types of fielding are an art—something that requires “skill and imagination”. It got me to thinking about the art of device, and how it is used elsewhere in fiction.
Like the Art of Fielding, a lot of “art of” books seem to get at relationships and how to live:
by Elizabeth Berg
The Art of Living, and Other Stories (M)
by John Gardner
The Art of Seeing (M)
by Cammie McGovern
The Art of Forgetting (M)
by Camille Noe Pagán
The Art of Salvage (M)
by Leona Theis
This book is told from the perspective of a dog, but it also seems to say a lot about human interaction:
by Garth Stein
A few “art of” titles focus on romance:
The Art of Seduction (M)
by Katherine O’Neal
The Art of French Kissing (M)
by Kristen Harmel
And it’s a fairly common device in the mystery/thriller genre as well.
by A. E. Maxwell
The Art of Deception (M)
by Ridley Pearson
The Art of Breaking Glass (M)
by Matthew Hall
The Art of Detection (M)
by Laurie R. King
The Art of Drowning (M)
by Frances Fyfield
There are lost arts too:
by Eva Rice
The Lost Art of Gratitude (M)
by Alexander McCall Smith
Like The Art of Fielding, my favourite art of title I’ve come across in researching this blog post, also has a touch of the literal and the figurative. The Art and Craft of Approaching your Head of Department to Submit a Request for a Raise (M) by Georges Perec
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