Quick premise - small, D3 college near the Great Lakes (or was it Northeast... not critical) with a small cast of interesting and very well described characters; most of which are on the baseball team along with the school President and his daughter. The story is about their dreams, hopes, loves, etc.
The book starts with a bang and made me intrigued and care immediately. It was about baseball and, more specifically, the beauty of a perfectly fielded ball and the work and effort that goes into perfectly fielding a ball. From there, the author spends even more time going into the intricacies that go into being a great fielder. As the book goes on, it continued to captivate me. The characters were slowly introduced and the author did a fantastic job of describing each of them deeply; their looks, personality, and motivations were quickly apparent. I found the more I read, the more I wanted to continue reading.
But, like many books that check in over 500 pages, it did lull in some places. Not many though, perhaps a few times I looked at the book and chose a TV show instead; but more often than not, I wanted to pick up the book and keep reading it and not put it down. The story kept me intrigued due to it's multifaceted plots. While baseball and the objective of winning was underlying much of the book, the main characters seeking to find their own ways of winning were just as captivating.
As the first novel from Harbach, I eagerly look forward to his next release (though I read that it took him 9 years to complete this book; so it may be a bit of a wait). This book really was a fun read and one that I was a bit sad when it ended; I wanted it to keep going! Always a revealing sign about the entertainment value of a book. I highly recommend.
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