The Art of Fielding by Chad Harback
One of the most talked-about books of the season is a debut novel by the cofounder and coeditor of n+1, the acclaimed magazine of politics, literature, and culture. But don’t worry; you don’t have to be an intellect or (it pains me to say) a baseball fan for that matter to be blown away by this book that is set around our national pastime. “Reading The Art of Fielding is like watching a hugely gifted young shortstop: you keep waiting for the errors, but there are no errors. First novels this complete and consuming come along very, very seldom.” —Jonathan Franzen, author of Freedom