Baseball has inspired many works of fiction – including Chad Harbach’s bestselling novel, The Art of Fielding. But while the action is centered around a college team and its star shortstop, Henry Scrimshander, this is much more than a baseball book. The fallacy of perfection, the inevitability of change and the power of friendship are just a few of the multi-layered themes explored in the novel, which is now out in paperback.
Mr. Harbach spent nearly a decade writing The Art of Fielding and it was finally published in 2011 to great fanfare and commercial success. The book also received widespread critical praise for its big-hearted and evocative story, its sensitive exploration of what could be termed the Human Condition, and for its finely drawn characters, which seem as real and vivid as the fictional Midwestern college where the book is set.
Mr. Harbach grew up in Wisconsin, graduated from Harvard University, and received his MFA from the University of Virginia. He is the co-founder and co-editor of the literary magazine, N-Plus-One. The Art of Fielding is his first novel.
