| |  | Author: Bernard Malamud
Publisher: Time Incorporated
Buy New: $1.10
New (4) Used (16) Collectible (6) from $0.01
Rating:  101 reviews
Sales Rank: 2508014
Media: Paperback
Edition: Time Reading Program special ed
Pages: 241
ASIN: B0007EI2G8
Publication Date: 1966
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: 1966 Time Publication Board PBK. Absolute new, pristine condition. Never read. FAST SHIPPING anywhere on the planet. Delivery confirmation in U.S. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Defining Work November 15, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Natural is the very best that baseball novels has to offer. As a reader, one follows the sordid life of Roy Hobbs as he tries to rebound from an indiscretion of youth that has derailed his career for many years. Just as in Frank Nappi's novel The Legend of Mickey Tussler, [[ASIN:0312381093 The Legend of Mickey Tussler], you find yourself cheering and rooting for this phenom to attain all sorts of baseball glory. But regrettably, there is something about the character -- a flaw or imperfection if you will -- that holds him back from grabbing the glory that by all means should be his. This great work reminds us that we as humans are all flawed and vulnerable, despite our physical skills and prowess. Frank Deford's novel The Entitled [[ASIN:1402208960 The Entitled]does the same thing on a more modern level. I found myself is all three cases, but mostly with Malamud's work, frustrated but riveted to the idea that these baseball stars just could not get to the level that their ability seemed to portend.
 Not Free SF Reader September 3, 2007
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
A supremely outstanding baseball player is not supremely outstanding off the field, and ends up having a lot of problems because of his stardom and inability to cope with that in general.
This book is ok, but as far as sport books go you can certainly get better and more interesting things to read than this.
No Hollywood ending here August 25, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
On the surface, Bernard Malamud's "The Natural" is a book about baseball and the exploits of mythic ballplayer Roy Hobbs. Delving deeper Malamud chronicles the relentless peaks and valleys of human existence as Hobbs goes through cycles of decimation and resurrection. "The Natural", Malamud's first published novel has been compared to Homer's "The Odyssey" as we follow Hobb's meandering trek through life.
We are introduced to Hobbs as a 19 year old pitching phenom aboard a train headed for a tryout with the Chicago Cubs, shepherded by an ex-major league catcher Sam. In a cruel reversal of fortune Hobbs hooks up with a crazed gal he met on the train in Chicago and gets gut shot for his trouble.
Fast forwarding ahead we next see a mid thirtyish Hobbs reporting to the dreadful New York Knights major league baseball team after having been signed to a contract. Hobbs originally scorned and benched by manager Pop Fisher eventually turns into a baseball icon hitting and fielding his way into legendary status. His exploits have the doleful Knights skyrocketing in the standings threatening to finally win a pennant. Hobbs however goes through his slumps as the cycles of his life continue to wax and wane even after momentarily attaining his dream of being the best in the game.
Hobbs a hero who totes around some heavy excess baggage cannot divorce himself from his attraction to loose women and pursues Pop Fisher's niece, a floozy named Memo who comports with gamblers. Despite meeting a fine woman, Iris, who stood by him during the depths of his most desperate slump, he cannot smell the coffee and give up Memo.
The story continues with the fortunes of Hobbs bouncing up and down like the stock market, concluding in a much more realistic ending in a style Malamud used in other books, than seen in the movie version. Malamud used real life events in the history of baseball lore to craft the plot and characters in this novel.
A dark classic July 29, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Those who have seen the movie but have not read the book will be surprised. Bernard Malamud paints a much darker picture of the odyssey of Roy Hobbs. The book takes the arc of one person's career--Roy Hobbs--and weds it to a couple grim episodes in baseball's history: Eddie Waitkus and the Black Sox.
The Hobbs of the novel is wonderfully talented--but very human. In the movie, there is a prolonged slump after Hobbs links up with Paris Memo. In the novel, he sometimes simply has a slump. In the novel, he appears to have supernatural powers; in the novel, he is very talented but very human.
The movie's uplifting ending works. The novel's darker ending also works. Each version of "The Natural" works well in its own right; the momentum in each moves toward the closing.
Malamud writes well and creates characters that seem to have life to them. He also captures the very human--and vulnerable--traits of the characters.
Even if you liked the movie and its view of Roy Hobbs, you will find the book gripping in its own, very different way.
Supterstud July 29, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great book, but it is not the same story as the movie. In fact, it is much darker and more pessimistic. If you loved the movie, and now want to read the book, please remember that the story is quite different. This was author Bernard Malamud's first great literary success. It is classic and timeless. If you buy it expecting FIELD OF DREAMS or MAJOR LEAGUE you will be very disappointed in how it ends. This is not a romance or a feel good type of book. It should be read as a myth not as a baseball adventure. The ending will surprise the hell out of you after watching the watered down Robert Redford movie.
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