THE ART OF FIELDING: A Novel, by Chad Harbach (544 pages). FLASH REVIEW:  This is not a baseball novel or a sports novel, it is simply a terrific novel with a backdrop that just happens to be a baseball diamond. Imagine Rocky Balboa as a scrawny shortstop at a tiny college suddenly destined for greatness in the Big Leagues — although underdog Henry Skrimshander’s gift could be music or painting or any other passion. Add in handful of other characters the reader comes to care about; love and death and second chances and friendships; and a series of roller-coaster story lines perfectly woven, plus beautiful writing and phrase-making, and you have a 1-hit shutout that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final out . . . or throwing error. RATING: 4.5 STARS out of 5.