The Comebacker

The Forgetters

by Dave Eggers

Lionel Gregorian is a beat reporter covering the San Francisco Giants—an enviable job if not for the soggy fries, and the so-so weather, and the Giants’ losing record. His colleagues are even more dissatisfied, mired in statistics and myopia and complaints about a certain elevator that is really too slow. One day, though, a new pitcher, Nathan Couture, is brought up from the minor leagues; he’s tall and lanky and talks like no one they’ve ever covered. Even more startling is Nathan’s actual interest in the words Lionel writes, and his rare, even unprecedented, ability to see the beauty in the game he’s paid to play.

This short story, the fourth in The Forgetters series, finds Eggers at his most comic and lyrical.

Genres: Fiction, Novella, Contemporary, Short Stories, Sports

48 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2024

About the author

Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is best known for his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of several notable literary and philanthropic ventures, including the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the literacy project 826 Valencia, and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness. Additionally, he founded ScholarMatch, a program that connects donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in numerous prestigious publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine.

Reviews

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was a little nervous about not liking and not completely understanding the sports factor of this story. HOWEVER that was not actually a problem and it was about sports writing! and also kindness and understanding and human nature! The characters were definitely the driving point, as I believe they have to be in a short story, and I wanted to read more about the future of Nathan, the baseball player with a head injury!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baseball lends itself nicely to stories like this.

[Marc Buwalda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quaint. Quirky. Perhaps I’m missing something. Will be interesting how this translates to screen.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series gets better and better.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth chapter in Eggers’s book, The Comebacker, shares similarities with The Keeper of Ornaments: A man, single, lives alone, has a steady job and a steady routine: Lionel is a local reporter for the San Francisco Giants’ home games. As with Keeper, one day, the unexpected arrival of someone new stirs the protagonist from his autopilot mode. In this case, it’s a AAA player named Nathan sent up to the Giants, a man who is unusually articulate and thoughtful for a player. Then, as with the first time Daphne and her daughters check out their new home in Keeper, Nathan, vanishes, and Lionel retreats again into himself, but not without lingering thoughts of this odd duck.

The provocateur returns (as with Keeper) when Nathan is brought back a few weeks later. Sent in to relieve the starting pitcher, Nathan saves the team from losing its one-run advantage, and in the locker room, he’s as eloquent, even poetic, as ever. Like Eggers’s earlier book about flying in a glider, Understanding the Sky, the narrative is built from a series of answers from Nathan to questions about the experience.

Towards the end of the story, Nathan’s career ascending, Lionel visits Nathan’s parents (just as the narrator Keeper visits his parents) to interview them for a profile piece on Nathan. And as with Keeper, there’s the influence, the residue, of a dead sibling hovering in the background.

Lionel finds out that a line drive to the temple prior to Nathan coming to the Giants, a glancing shot off the temple, loosened Nathan’s tongue, giving his speech its loquaciousness and his mind the serenity of a Buddhist in his outlook on life, the knowledge gained that there is something miraculous to behold in even the most pedestrian experience, which Lionel, set in his routine, hadn’t before appreciated. Nathan’s sense of wonder at the humblest elements of creation remains, even when his baseball days suddenly end.

For more of my reviews, please see https://www.thebookbeat.com/backroom/...

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, brief, quirky addition to Eggers’ series, The Forgetters. The context is baseball, and fans will probably enjoy it most, but it’s by no means necessary to have significant knowledge of the game.

One odd thing was the reference to Vartan Gregorian as the former president of Yale and commissioner of Major League Baseball. Unclear why Eggers would attribute those roles to Gregorian instead of Bart Giamatti …. The reference in the story was linking to the character named Lionel Gregorian, but the details could easily have been modified to avoid this seeming error.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sportswriter covering the San Francisco Giants is bored by a mediocre team and nothing to write about. When a lanky middle reliever pitcher called up from the minors proves to have an out-of-the-ordinary poetic way of describing his baseball experience, the reporter finally has what he's been waiting for. This short story, another from Dave Eggers' The Forgetters series, is a sweet and quirky look at finding a gem when you least expect it. Actual rating: 3.75

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less exciting to me, but the note about the cover colors (“NOTE ABOUT THE COLORS ON THE COVER: Yes, we know the Giants’ colors are orange and black, not orange and dark blue. But no one want an orange-and-black book. Or at least we did not want an orange-and-black book.”) makes me smile.

[Nick Gregorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful little story. I smiled the whole time. These Forgetters books are just plain ol’ delightful. Also, the baseball was written like it was penned by an actual beat writer. A real damn treat.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

These feel like cheating when it comes to calling them separate books, but they are nice, low stakes palate-cleansers.

This was my least favorite of the three but probably because I don’t care about sports.

[Juli Morneweck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sports story that actually kept my interest and caused me to look up several nonsport terms, which was unexpected.

I've slowly been working my way through this series of Eggers'. This wasn't my favorite, but it was still a good, quick read.Most enjoyable.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best short stories I’ve ever read. Absolutely beautiful.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best story in this series so far

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved all of the other stories in this series so far, but this one didn’t do anything for me.

[Emily Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story

[Sharlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

a giants fan must read. a lovely yarn to america's pastime

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in love with this series. I was equally surprised and enamored when the baseball player started talking. I love how I can visualize each character.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short story/novella that tries to help the reader embrace a positive light in their life through a unique sports character.

[Timothy Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite in this series so far. what a great yarn.

[Hannah Goldbach]

Has anyone read any Eggers?

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

not my fave of his little stories, but good enough!

[Alex Nagler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s not to love about baseball?

[jaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

so so so so sweet i ♡ baseball

[Alysse Shana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I smiled at this book like I smile at reels. It was so funny.

[Jacob Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really quaint and beautiful tale!

[Brett Hiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likely a 3.5. Read this because of the upcoming Tom Hanks movie. Obviously, looooots to fill in.

[Hannah]

I really enjoy these little books.

[Sophia Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I too love a synonym!

[Kenneth Chanko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stand-alone 45-page short story is a sublime cross between a romanticized "Field of Dreams"-style story and a vintage Ring Lardner tall-tale. It is the basis of an upcoming Tom Hanks movie, to be directed by Marielle Heller, who previously collaborated with Hanks on the under-appreciated Mr. Rogers biopic "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood." I'm there.