Fiction recs for a picky reader

I am a librarian and I've never had more trouble finding fiction for someone than I have for my husband. He reads mostly non-fiction, but is finding that he needs more of a mental break that non-fiction can provide right now.

His favorite fiction read was Let the Great World Spin by Collum McCann (the first and last successful recommendation I made to him). His most recently enjoyed book was Long Bright River by Liz Moore. He's read and enjoyed all of Pat Conry's novels. He's read any fiction book having to do with baseball.

His interests include: sports (esp. hockey and baseball), professional wrestling, the Olympics, stadium financing, rock music, and Russian.

We have tried and he has shot down:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Secret History by Donna Tartt
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

My next rec is Ian McEwan or John Irving unless anyone has any suggestions.

How does he feel about genre fiction? (ETA: I'm thinking mysteries and science fiction/fantasy.)

>1 katemcangus: Daisy and the Six for rock music

Maybe...
Mystic River
Saints for All Occasions
Miracle Creek

I've heard good things about The Art of Fielding

>THE ART OF FIELDING by Chad Harbach.
THE BROTHERS K by David James Duncan.

>1 katemcangus: "The Sojourn" by Andrew Krivak. It takes place during WWI in Europe. While it doesn't exactly fall under his preferences, it's an incredible book about survival and perseverance.

Has he read "The Cactus League" The Cactus League by Emily Nemens -- one of those stories/novel hybrids. Recent, so he could have missed it. Baseball in the spring in Arizona from a variety of perspectives.

I haven't read "Utopia Avenue" Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell about a rock band, but it could be worth a shot.

>2 karenb: Yes, I can't believe I failed to mention this: he won't consider sci-fi or fantasy. He is missing out, obviously.

>5 edparks: He read & loved The Art of Fielding, but I'd never heard of The Brothers K. Thanks for the rec!

>6 TheFlamingoReads: I'll pass this along to him, thanks!

>7 Capybara_99: I totally missed The Cactus League, which might be perfect, thanks! And the Mitchell looks promising as well. I didn't even think to consider him since my husband doesn't do sci-fi/fantasy. Good call!

>4 lesmel: Thanks, I'll pass these along, too!

Grisham's Calico Joe? I know you said that he had read almost everything about baseball but Grisham is not an author you will look at for this kind of a book so... maybe?

Absurdistan (technically SF but... it does not really read as one - it is more of an allegory/satire than a straight SF novel) may also work based on his interest in Russian - depending on what exactly his interest is of course...

What exactly interests him in Russian? Maybe this is a direction we can explore :)

>1 katemcangus: I am not a sports fan, but I absolutely loved Pitching Around Fidel. It was a history and travelogue about sports in Cuba. It had a bit of Olympics, plenty of boxing and baseball, and gave a wonderful feel. The writing was so smooth and easy-to-read. I also enjoyed Kill the Ámpaya, which is a collection of short fiction. It was a lot of fun to read.

Maybe The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay or a Edward Rutherford book if he has any interest in any of the locations his books are about. Also the Jack Whyte King Arthur books were amazing they are written like historical fiction no fantasy or magic.

Not fiction, but certainly as readable as fiction, I would assume that he has read The Boy's in the Boat by Daniel James Brown?
Something also lighthearted and non-fiction is just about anything by Bill Bryson, especially In a Sunburned Country.

If he liked the WP Kinsella baseball fiction, you know that Kinsella wrote non-baseball fiction too? They're older but good, if you can find them.

(Too bad about the SF/fantasy: Michael Bishop's Brittle Innings was excellent.)

>16 ORTeacher:. I was just coming by to also recommend The Boys in the Boat. A fascinating story well told.

I know the OP is asking for fiction, but there is so much entertaining non-fiction!

I can also recommend The Day the World Came to Town for a complex story admirably managed.

>8 katemcangus:

Even if it is a SF book with strong baseball content - Brittle Innings*

For music maybe Andrew Cartmel's The Vinyl Detective series. Sort of music related mystery(ish) books which are pretty light but set in the UK which might be a non-starter.

* Ha beaten to the punch by >17 karenb:

Oh, Brittle Innings is so good. The fantastical elements aren't really what people who dislike fantasy think of when they say fantasy, so maybe it's worth a try anyway? I mean, Shoeless Joe is fantasy too, after all.

How about some modern Russian fiction, like The Secret Book of the Werewolf by Viktor Pelevin? The setting is apparently urban fantasy, but really it is a satire on modern Russian life in the era when it was written i.e. the nineties.

And Russian werewolves are nothing like the Western concept of them, either in how they behave or in the "rules" of how they function. The fact the Russian for "werewolf" is also the slang for a certain type of criminal is relevant here.

How about some modern Russian fiction, like The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Viktor Pelevin? The setting is apparently urban fantasy, but really it is a satire on modern Russian life in the era when it was written i.e. the nineties.

And Russian werewolves are nothing like the Western concept of them, either in how they behave or in the "rules" of how they function. The fact the Russian for "werewolf" is also the slang for a certain type of criminal is relevant here.

Sasha Seriy is both a werewolf and a KGB officer.
A-hui is both a werefox and a virgin prostitute.

Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley is the first mystery in the series and hockey is a prominent part of the story.

What about Born to run by Christopher McDougal? It's nonfiction, but it read like a novel to me.

What about Born to run by Christopher McDougal? It's nonfiction, but I found it fun & an easy read.

He might enjoy Beartown by Fredrik Backman. It's about hockey, but has more depth than a sports book. If he liked Let the Great World Spin (one of my FAVORITE books) then I think it could be a good match :)

>1 katemcangus: A recent book (2020) is The Resisters by Gish Jen. It is a dystopian book in which a main character is a high school / college aged girl that has a great pitching arm. More on control than fast on speed.

>15 reb922: I agree about Kavalier and Clay. Let us know if he tries it.

Has he tried A Gentleman in Moscow? Historical fiction, fascinating characters.

I second A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. My finicky not-too-much-fiction-please husband loved it.

Perhaps something from one of these writers.

Ian McEwan

William Strong

Bill Bryson -- reads like fiction -- especially A Walk in the Woods and/or 1927 and/or The
Adventures of the Thunderbolt Kid

Winterdance by Gary Paulsen. Also literary non-fiction. Hysterically funny in parts.

Mary Doria Russo, not The Sparrow although I adore it but Doc or Dreamers of the Day?

Finally, how about Remains of the Day?

I also recommend A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. My husband loved this book as well and he tends to read nonfiction; history or politics.

The late Neil Peart from Rush wrote several books, including The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa ... non-fiction, but travelogues with a rock music "soundtrack," so to speak.