Costco Connection

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PHOTODISC

Life lessons
from a diamond
Sticking with the game plan pays off
by Matthew Robb

FOR 10 DIFFICULT YEARS, Chad Harbach wandered the desert of the publishing world, following a star he hoped would deliver him to his first novel.

While his fellow Harvard graduates were zooming up the ladder of success, the Wisconsin native recalls “barely scraping by from one paycheck to the next, from one odd, lousy job to another.” By age 32, instead of popping corks, he was crumpling rejection letters and battling massive self-doubt. People suggested he find another job—a real job. Against all odds, he pressed on.

Then lightning struck. In fall 2011, publisher Little, Brown debuted his completed novel, The Art of Fielding. Overnight, a chorus of big-name critics erupted with praise, catapulting Harbach from zero to hero. As international audiences add to the ovation, the desert-wanderer is a star in his own right.

Described by one critic as “the greatest baseball novel in a generation,” Harbach’s page-turner is a warm, witty homage to our national pastime, and owes its dirt-and-grass realism to the author’s encyclopedic knowledge and love of the sport. “This is the game my father played and the game that he taught me,” explains the Costco member and lifelong Milwaukee Brewers fan.

Yet his sports theme is just a metaphorical first
base that is part of something grander. The X factor
that gives this novel such broad appeal—“Women
seem to like it even more than men,” he notes—is its
sensitive exploration of fate and forever friendships,
soured dreams and the sweet salvation of second
chances. Harbach acknowledges his work is
threaded with autobiographical themes: “For me as
a writer, there’s a similar yearning for success and
fear of success, mirroring the external and internal
challenges [the protagonist] has to overcome to
become a top-flight player.”
Among the life challenges Harbach has over-
come: Prior to his eventual acceptance into the
University of Virginia’s graduate writing program,
he struck out at six other elite schools. The powers

Chad Harbach

ONE OF THE great things about Costco members is that they’re passionate about books. Whether it’s a title they love or really dislike, I hear about it. Ultimately, that kind of feedback means Costco members are paying attention to books—and that’s why I’m here.

FRANCE FREEMAN

With more than 20 million Connection readers it’s dif;cult to make everyone happy, but I believe that the May Book Buyer’s Pick, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, will win over most of you. This debut novel, which melds baseball, Herman Melville and ;ve very different people, is exactly the kind of book that makes me glad to be part of the book-selling industry.

With every sentence and each ;eshed-out character he creates, Harbach makes the right move. The result is, quite simply, great literature and easily among the best books of 2011.

that be just didn’t see enough potential. (One wonders if school officials are now kicking themselves.)

Two years later a dark reality settled
in. Harbach discovered that even his
Harvard and MFA pedigree hadn’t fully
demystified novel writing. As months
ticked by, he feared he was chasing his
own great white whale, partly explaining
the Melvillean references sprinkled
throughout the completed tome. “I
Harbach kept swinging away. “Once I had sunk
in [all those] years, and wrote those million and a
half words or whatever, it just wouldn’t have been
psychologically possible to quit,” he tells The
Connection from his home in Charlottesville,
Virginia. “You really have to live inside that world,
and it takes a while to get there. It’s like a semi truck
that you have to get into the 17th gear before you’re
finally at speed.”
Harbach does count one early-career bright spot:
In 2004, he and four friends launched the journal
n+ 1. Harbach poured countless hours into the spec-
ulative bid—all unpaid. Today, the thrice-yearly pub-
lication earns positive reviews for its highbrow
expositions on literature, culture and politics.

So tell us, Mr. Harbach, which would you rather
be: a gifted first-time novelist or a gifted first-year
baseball player? With a hearty laugh, he says, “That’s
a tough question!” Pausing, he theatrically whispers,
“Probably a first-year baseball player, although at
my age, it’s probably better to be a first-time novel-
ist.” A sophomore novel will follow, he declares, but
right now he’s enjoying his home run. C
For more book picks,
see page 71.

Matthew Robb, once known in Little League as “Slugger,” today writes from an Astroturfed office in suburban Washington, D.C.

COSTCO HAS 50 SIGNED COPIES of Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding to give away. To enter, search for “MayBookPick” on Costco.com and follow the instructions. Or print your name, address and daytime phone number on a postcard or letter and send it to: Chad Harbach, The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088.

Purchase will not improve odds of winning. Sweepstakes is sponsored by Hachette Book Group, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Open to legal residents of the U. S. (except Puerto Rico) who are age 18 or older at the time of entry. One entry per household. Entries must be received by June 1, 2012. Winners will be randomly selected and noti;ed by mail on or before July 1, 2012. The value of the prize is $14.99. Void where prohibited.

Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state and local taxes. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Employees of Costco or Hachette Book Group and their families are not eligible.