The Art of Fielding

A wonderful, warm novel from a major American voice.

‘It's left a little hole in my life the way a really good book will’ Jonathan Franzen

A small American college. Five very different lives. One terrible mistake.

At Westish College, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for the big league until a routine throw goes disastrously off course. His error will upend the fates of five people. Henry's burgeoning self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight falls unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight returns to Westish, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, all five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets.

‘The best debut novel I’ve read this year – assured, funny, poignant and deeply satisfying’ Evening Standard