Helpful Score: 3
Powerful, mythic, wonderful use of language.
Helpful Score: 2
THE FINEST NOVEL ABOUT BASEBALL SINCE RING LARDNER LEFT THE SCENE.
Helpful Score: 1
Malamud's prose does a wonderful job capturing the essence of what baseball is: brief moments of chaotic action amid long stretches of patient passivity.
Helpful Score: 1
As a fan of baseball I eagerly anticipated reading "The Natural" by Bernard Malamud. I, personally, was disappointed. Not that the writing was bad, it wasn't but I do not believe that the author has ever watched a game of baseball or if he has then he doesn't know enough about the game to write intelligently about baseball. There are just too many instances where the story lost me because the time wasn't taken and experts consulted to get the rules of the game straight.
Helpful Score: 1
Liked the movie so much better, which is not usually the case for me.
Helpful Score: 1
Batter up! This is a no-brainer read; little wonder that it was made into a movie. Roy Hobbs is a hayseed with all the power of a steroid wonder. His team, the Knights, would seem to be the progenitor of the Cleveland Indians in the movie Major League, while Roy is the progeny of Casey at the Bat. It has all the ennui and hype of modern baseball. Too bad that this wasnt on the required reading list for Pete Rose.
Helpful Score: 1
The book isn't a bad read but it would have been better if Mr. Malamud understood something about baseball. There are far too many errors about how the game is played.
Just three stars from me.
Just three stars from me.
Helpful Score: 1
If you loved the movie The Natural, you're gonna hate this book. The plot veers in and out with the screenplay, but the thing that really stood out for me, Roy Hobbs is just not very likeable in this book. Other than his ability to play baseball, he doesn't have a whole lot going for him. Go ahead, The Natural movie fans, but don't say I didn't warn you.
Helpful Score: 1
This book is a classic, and not just for people that love baseball. Malamud is a great author. Here's the scoop from the back of the book:
Biting, witty, provocative, and sardonic, Bernard Malamud's The Natural is widely considered to be the premier baseball novel of all time. It tells the story of Roy Hobbs--an athlete born with rare and wondrous gifts--who is robbed of his prime playing years by a youthful indiscretion that nearly consists him his life. But at an age when most players are considering retirement, Roy reenters the game, lifting the lowly New York Knights from last place into pennant contention and becoming an instant hero in the process. Now all he has to worry about is the fixers, the boss, the slump, the jinx, the fans...and the dangerously seductive Memo Paris, the one woman Roy can't seem to get out of his mind
Biting, witty, provocative, and sardonic, Bernard Malamud's The Natural is widely considered to be the premier baseball novel of all time. It tells the story of Roy Hobbs--an athlete born with rare and wondrous gifts--who is robbed of his prime playing years by a youthful indiscretion that nearly consists him his life. But at an age when most players are considering retirement, Roy reenters the game, lifting the lowly New York Knights from last place into pennant contention and becoming an instant hero in the process. Now all he has to worry about is the fixers, the boss, the slump, the jinx, the fans...and the dangerously seductive Memo Paris, the one woman Roy can't seem to get out of his mind
This is supposed to be a classic novel. I just couldn't get into it. Probably because I have the edition w/movie stills plastered all over it and that really turned me off to the book.
