Yes, it is a baseball book but it is so much more. I do not ususally read sports themed novels. This one attracted me because of an article in Vanity Fair Magazine, October 2011. It is titled: "The Book on Publishing" by Keith Gessen. Gessen and Harbach met at Harvard College in the late 1990's. The Vanity Fair article uses Harbach's book as an example of what the state of publishing is in here in the United States. This article completely captivated me.
They came together because they both felt like fish out of water with all the prep school educated classmates they were surrounding them and bonded over their mutual state of shock and feeling of being terribly unsophisticated. Harbach was from Wisconsin and Gessen from New York but went to public schools. After graduation, Gessen and Harbach went onto do other things but came back together to start a literary magazine called n + 1. Meanwhile, Harbach worked on his novel. He worked on it for 10 years. He rewrote it three times. Then an agent read his manuscript and became very passionate about Harbach's book. And it was published with great critical proclaim.
The book is primarily told from four characters' perspectives. Henry Skrimshander is a baseball genius whose showstopping skill proves to be short of a miracle. He is found by a college player, Mike, who recruits Henry for his small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. The other narrators are the college's president, Guert Affenlight and his daughter, Pella, who comes home from a four year marriage that began as she graduated from high school.
Pella had a bright academic future but was attracted to a much older man who was giving a seminar at the college. She now wants to pick up her life and go back to school. Her father wants to rebuild his relationship with Pella. Her father also has a secret--a crush on Henry's gay roommate who is also on the baseball team.
The story begins with Guert's life as a student at the college. He discovers speech hidden deeply in the college's archives that was written/given by Herman Melville. Thus proof that Melville had visited the small liberal arts college, Westish College of Wisconsin. Guert returns to Westish as President from years at Harvard.
Then the story picks up with Henry's entry into the college, jumping to Henry's third year at the college. Henry is being watched by major league scouts, the team is on their way to their first winning season and are looking toward winning the conference and nationals. Henry's flawless throwing changes with one throw hitting his roommate in the dug out. This throw is the act that changes all of their lives...
Henry cannot throw anymore while playing a game. He throws the ball but it does not go the way he intends or he hesitates just that bit of time that causes an error (I think that is the technical term for an error). He is one of a hand full of players who have the baseball players' equivilant to writer's block. Meanwhile, Mike does not get into the schools he has applied to for his postsecondary education plans. Pella already has seen what it is like to start on a course as an adult and see it fail or see it change. All three young people learn life is full of change, failure, different choices, need for try it/fix it approaches to life decisions. These lessons are not easy but the author takes the reader on a journey that is lyrically written and fascinating to witness.
Please read this book. I promise you will not be sorry.
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