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Summary: The Natural
Review: In my english class I was told I had to read a book of my choice and write a review. So I chose this book just because I am a fan of baseball, and it was short. Let me tell you, I am glad I read this book. I myself hate to read but I couldn't put the book down. The inspirational story of how a baseball player lives out his dreams kept me captivated the whole time. The story is about a young man, Roy Hobbs, who was on his way to try out for the Chicago Cubs and on the way he met a girl who took him back to her hotel room and shot him. The story resumes years later when Roy begins his brilliant come back and over comes adversity to become one of the best baseball players of all time. He wins the love and respect of the baseball community who at first thought he was to old to play, but once they saw him play the fans fell in love with him. I got so into the story I wanted to get out of my seat and go play. This is a must read whether you are a baseball fan or not, it is a great story and you should not pass it up.
Rating:
Summary: The Natural
Review: At first I was forced to read this book. I didn't want to really it sounded very boring. But when I began to compare how the book relates to the "American Dream" I found that I was quickly drawn it the plot. It is a very rich story of a normal man (Roy Hobbs) and his strive to be what everyone wants to be, the best. He keeps valiantly on his steady search. Though he stumbles on the bumps in the road, he keeps going. In his pursuit of happiness he experiences joy, sadness, loss and even love.
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Summary: A moving story about life and baseball
Review: Bernard Malamud's book is truly a classic. While the book is about a baseball player, it is about much more than baseball. This story goes through his thoughts, fears, and desires. It is a book about trials and perseverance, sex and greed, tragedy and failure. Be warned, however, that this is NOT Robert Redford's 'The Natural.' The characters are the same, but if you go in expecting it to be exactly the same as the movie, you may be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: The Natural
Review: I thought the book moved slowly. There was parts of the book that caught my attention , but it didn't hold it very long. There was parts that were unclear and you had to make your opinion about why something happened. I think the book should tell more clearly about why some of the actions took place. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes in-depth reading and likes to make there own opinion about a book.
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Summary: The Other Roy Hobbs
Review: I never realized how different the book version is a compared to the popular motion picture version starring Robert Redford. As many of you know the protagonist, Roy Hobbs was a natural at baseball, but his career is sidetracked by a crazed woman that kills famous sports athletes with a silver bulleted gun right before his tryout with the Chicago Cubs. Roy never had a chance to play with a Major League Baseball club until he was in his mid-thirties and well past his prime and was signed to a minimal salary to play for the NY Knights. Despite his age, Roy played better than anyone else during stretches in the baseball season, and raised the expectations of the Knights ballclub from a bunch of losers to true contenders. In his story, Malamud explains the highs and lows of any sports athlete - being in the zone and hitting slumps. The major differences between Robert Redford performing like Roy Hobbs, and the true Roy Hobbs in Malamud's book, is that Hobbs is not superhuman - or a "Wonderboy" as his bat exclaims. Robert Redford plays a mysterious Herculean athlete that carries his team to a pennant. Whereas, Malamud's Hobbs is a normal guy with exceptional ballplayer skills - but he makes human mistakes. I think what most readers of 'The Natural' will be most surprised at is the ending of the book - it builds up climatically just as the movie does, however the end is much different. I liked the book very much, and I am an admirer of Malamud's writing style. I recommend the book; I loved the movie, and I comparatively loved the book - but in a different way.
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Summary: Ball Report
Review: The Natural tells the story of Roy Hobbs a stubborn country man who dreams of planning in the pros but is detained after he is shot. Years later he joins the failing New York Knights who must win the penant if they are to still be owned by manger Pops. Roy although aging quickly leads the team to the playoffs. However he is continually hounded by Max Mercy a reprter who wants to uncover Roy's past and the Judge who will do anything to see the Knights lose. I thought that this was an excellent book. Bernard Malmund makes his characters seem incredibly real. He also describes their problems and lives with great clarity. He also tells the story at an even pace. he also make sit remarkbly believeable Roy's story could very well be taken from another great athlete. The ups and downs are the truest I have ever read from any novel. Also, the story in itself is intoxicating. Read it and it is easy to become lost in that world. It is also excellent drama. The way Roy lives and how he interacts with the other characters is excellent. The story is entertaining as well. You will be cheering for Roy and the Knights for the entire story. Read this story of determanation and love of the game and you will never look at baseball the same way again.
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Summary: The Unlikley Legend
Review: The novel The Natural by Bernard Malamud is one of the most thrilling novels I've ever read. It takes you through the ups and downs in the life of Roy Hobbs. At times the book became hard to understand because it seems to jump back and forth through time. Malamud does a superb job of revealing the characters' inner throughts and feelings. The setting is often changing, but the imagery makes them easy to picture. Malamud seems to throw you off guard with his ever-changing characters. Right when you think something predictable will happen, the story does a 180. The theme of the novel is clearly unveiled through Malamud's narration and also through the characters. Overall the novel The Natural was a tremendous book. I would recommend it to people who like to read about overcoming adversities and also to baseball fans.
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Summary: Startling, depressing story
Review: The Natural focuses on the tragic flaws of all it's characters. I didn't read the book, I listened to it on tape. I found the story fascinating, but very depressing. I haven't seen the movie, and gather I would have found the book even more depressing. Rather than focus on baseball, as I had hoped it would, it focuses on the perils of hero worship, hubris, and human nature.
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Summary: Read it for yourself
Review: Ignore all those comments by a few readers at Amazon who unfortunately have compared the novel to the movie. The movie was yet another Hollywood feel-good flick with the wornout concept that "baseball imitates life," which is hogwash. Malamud's book has little to do with baseball; it merely has a baseball setting. One of the main themes of the book is the dangers of hero-worship. Heros are human, with human frailties. Many people say they do not like the ending of the book, but most of them are the same people who have seen the movie twenty times. Let them enjoy their vision of Robert Redford trotting around the bases after hitting a home run into the light towers and setting off a fire hazard. But one thing you must remember if you want to read this book fairly and judge it accurately, and which many readers can't seem to comprehend: BERNARD MALAMUD DID NOT WANT YOU TO LIKE ROY HOBBS.
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Summary: A very well-written but very troubling book
Review: "The Natural" is the story of Roy Hobbs, a baseball player with nearly supernatural talent. After losing his early career to a shooting, he returns to the Major Leagues at age 34. Still a tremendous player, he carries his team into the race for the National League pennant. However, he is plagued with indecision over which love interest to pursue and the temptation to solve his money problems by fixing games. A month after finishing "The Natural," I still do not know just what to make of it. I cannot reconcile the two opposing influences that this book exerts on its readers. On the one hand, we love Roy Hobbs for his incredible baseball exploits, and we are rooting for his New York Knights to win the pennant wholeheartedly. On the other, I found myself seething with hatred for Roy when I felt that he should have been stronger. I even hated Bernard Malamud himself for not creating a more perfect character; emotionally, I resented that he had written a novel with twists and turns and an uncertain outcome, rather than an uplifting hagiography about how Roy Hobbs conquered baseball. In many ways, it is a fascinating book. It tells a compelling story, and it beautifully captures the suspense and exhilaration of professional sports. While I was reading the scenes that actually take place on the baseball diamond, I felt the same thrill one experiences while watching an exciting game but usually does not feel while reading a newspaper account of a game. This is why the conflict between the uplift associated with Roy's strength and the moralization associated with Roy's weakness is so profound: reading about Roy's trials and tribulations is like watching a favorite team lose. The Natural may make for more serious literature this way, but it can be difficult to digest sometimes at a visceral level. Nonetheless, I have come to appreciate this side of "The Natural": I have gotten as much enjoyment from ruminating over it as I did while I was actually reading it. If nothing else, one must admire Malamud's courage for making a statement at all. The writing is mostly brilliant, but I do have one small reservation. Occasionally, Malamud omits commas or strings sentences together with comma splices. In order for me to make these passages mentally register, I have to "translate" them to correct grammar, which takes energy and makes it more difficult for me to become absorbed in a book. Incidentally, this book (which was published in 1952) makes a very cogent argument for free agency. I often hear people grumbling about how much athletes get paid and how they have no loyalty to their fans or their team. If one considers the nearly complete impotence of Roy Hobbs, and, indeed, all athletes before free agency, in dealing with the owner, though, the case for free agency becomes much stronger. If the owner does not have to compete with other teams to keep a player, he can pay players whatever he likes. As a result, the players see little of the profit that the team is turning, and some players, such as Roy in "The Natural," make subsistence level wages. If the story took place today, Roy would have had no dilemma over fixing. Of course, he would also have made millions in advertising today, whereas in the world of 1952 companies are unwilling to sign him because they fear he is a flash in the pan.
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