Hats off and a Standing O to Author Chad Harbach

It's been a long time since I've read a book like "The Art of Fielding," by Chad Harbach. He's doing so many things right in this novel, and so many right things all at once, I'm in awe. In fact, I can't keep quiet about it! 


It's sort of a baseball story, but even if I wasn't such a crazy fan of the game, I would love this book. Because the sentences are glorious, making it such a smooth read. But also, it's like being back in MFA school...it's got so many incredible examples of how to show emotion; how to develop character; how to do make a plot; how to create tension; and the setting, the setting is so incredibly alive, I feel like I live in this college town with all of the characters. 


What's striking is how thoughtful Harbach is about each character. That's just so really hard to do! Right now, I'm on page 428 and I don't want it to end. I want to keep going on and on in this lovely existence of beautiful writing. 


Thank you, Chad Harbach for the inspiration, for this beautiful work of art, and especially for giving me that sense of being lost in summer, reading, that pleasure I used to get when I was a kid.