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Summary: Simply one of the best I have ever heard!
Review: Simply smashing! A number one success! You have seen the movie, now it's time to listen to the book. Blackstone Audio has a real winner with this audio version of a great novel about America's national pastime - baseball.The five 1-1/2 hour cassettes recant the life of Roy Hobbs a promising young baseball prospect from that farmlands trying to make it to the majors. Hobbs is sideline by a woman with a deadly bullet and after 15 years his dream comes true. The story tells about the ups and down of Roy Hobbs and the New York Knights baseball club. From the strange death of Bump Bailey to the wiles of sports writer Max Mercy, you be treated to a first class story and you'll find it hard to stop listening. The ending was a true surprise and a real pleasure. I enjoyed the listening and would highly recommend this to anyone. Remember the movie is the movie and as is most cases movies often fall short of the books they copy.
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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: Malamud's Masterpiece
Review: In the beggining of the story, Roy Hobbs is traveling to Chicago where he will try out for the cubs. His destiny is altered when a woman named Harriet Bird shoots Roy in the stomach leaving him unable to play the game of baseball for years to follow.
Fifteen years later, Roy gets his start on a professional baseball team called the Knights. During this time, the story reveals Roy's character flaws. Although he is seen by all to be one of the best baseball players that ever lived, his big ego, sexual tendencies, and large appetite set him behind in the game. In the end of the story, Roy loses it for the team on account of these flaws.
Important characters in this story are Memo,Pop,Max Mercy and The Judge. Id have to say i thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Malamud's writing style is fast paced and an easy read. He uses metaphors quite often resulting in an in depth perspective. I wasnt too keen about the idea of reading a novel about baseball, but Malamud makes this story so much more than just that.
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Summary: The Malamudian hero
Review: In his 1952 novel, Bernard Malamud comments on the role of the hero in the modern world. In order to do so, he parallels Roy, the baseball natural and protagonist, with Percival the Arthurian knight. Roy is on a quest to join the game of baseball at the beginning of the novel. His first failure comes when he answers Harriet Bird's question wrong. When asked what he wants to become as a ballplayer, Roy can think of nothing more than personal gain. By inserting this in his book Malamud implies that many stars are in the game only for themselves. This refers to Percival asking the Fisher King the wrong question and being turned away. After a lapse of about fifteen years, Roy tries again to make it big in the pros. He joins a team called the New York Knights, an obvious relation to Arthurian legend, with the team coach Pop Fisher. Pop not only serves as a parent figure for Roy but he also resembles the Fisher King in the tale of Percival. Roy, who started out as a pitcher and is now a slugger, a reference to Babe Ruth, has made his own bat and dubbed it "Wonderboy". Roy's hitting is unbelievable while using this bat and he quickly becomes the league slugger. Percival, much like Roy, created his own lance with which to do battle. As Roy continues to increase in popularity, he is confronted with a wish from a dying lad at a hospital. His father asks Roy to hit a home run for his son because that is the only way his son will survive. Roy accepts this challenge and does in fact knock one out of the park for the boy and in doing so saving him. This alludes to Babe Ruth hitting a home run for the same reason. Malamud inserts this into his novel to show that even though most ballplayers are playing for personal gain, some also try to give back to the supporters. In a conversation with Iris Lemon, one of Roy's many loves, they discuss the importance of heroes. Iris, and in essence Malamud, states "Without heroes we're all plain people and don't know how far we can go." (167) This shows that Malamud respects heroes and expects them to set examples meant to be followed by all. There are many more examples of the hero motif as well as the Arthurian allusions near the end of the story, but in order to not spoil the ending, I will stop. Malamud does not only use these two motifs in his story but also many others such as color scheme, a bird motif, a train motif, and numerous allusions to events in baseball history. Beware though, this novel contains many scenes involving sexual topics. Malamud's use of these literary devices as well as his brilliant descriptions throughout the book make this story a must read for high school students.
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Summary: The Natural is a powerful book that transcends baseball.
Review: The Natural is a powerful work that contains some of the most vivid imagery I have ever read. It is a story of human struggle and redemption through suffering. Roy Hobbs, the protagonist, is a flawed figure whose shortcomings are only surpassed by his ability to hit a baseball. Malamud manages to weave a tale that makes you want Roy Hobbs to succeed to be "the best player ever to play the game." To its credit the book bears almost no resemblance to the movie of the same name. Roy Hobbs is not Robert Redford! Malamud's use of imagery is well illustrated when a young Roy, on his way to a major league tryout as a pitcher has a showdown at a carnival with the Slammer. Each pitch is described in a way that shows just what a natural Roy is. His first major league at bat is also beautifully described. I must say that this book is not for the squeamish. It is an adult drama, well written and finely crafted. In short this is a book that is about more than baseball yet is baseball in its truest essence.
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Summary: A Negative Baseball Player
Review: Why would a well-rounded baseball player bring down his team's chances of winning a championship game? Roy Robbs, the main character of the novel, seems to have reasons for creating this downfall. He experienced numerous, tragic flaws led to his downfall. Roy brings his team down, makes regretful decisions, ignores the coach, and chose to be around the wrong characters in the novel.
Being on a team does not mean one person does all the work. A team needs everyone to contribute and if one person lets up, it could bring the rest of the team down. In this book, Roy brings the team down in a couple of different ways. He started letting the team down after he replaced the best player on the team who had recently passed away. He did not care about being a team player as he said to Harriet, a lady he met on the bus, "I bet some day I will break every record for throwing and hitting"(pg.30). These dreams of wealth and power set him up for failure. Also, shortly after the team started winning, Roy had fallen into a major league slump and the whole team fell apart. This left them wandering if they would ever recover from their losing streak.
His decision making about women was less then desirable. Some of the decisions he made didn't make sense. First, he fell for a women named Memo Paris shortly after he noticed her for the first time. He didn't even know her and he was determined to meet her. After her boyfriend died, she hung out with him and blamed him for Bump's death. Throughout the book, she had been setting him up for disaster. All she wanted was his money and fame. He didn't even realize she was using him. Later in the book, he meets another lady named Iris, who helped him break out of his slump. She was very understanding and kind to him. But he insisted on dating Memo even though Iris was pregnant with his child.
Anther reason I think this book has a negative effect on readers is by the way he handled himself around his coach. His coach, Pop Fisher, gave him a significant amount of playing time. During the team's slump, the coach decided to hire a hypnotist to make the players focus better. Roy opposed the coach and said, "I might be on the team, but no medicine man is going to hypnotize me"(pg.75). So, the coach benched him and Roy became angry. They also had a disagreement when Roy refused to try a different bat during his slump. The coach said, "When will you get rid of that danged Wonderboy and try some other stick?" Roy replies, "Never"(pg.150). If anyone tried that in today's game of baseball, they would be assessed a harsh punishment. I disapproved when Roy thought he was above everyone else and thought he did not have to listen or answer to anyone. This showed that the coach had no control and he was taken avantage of by Roy.
I also disagree with the characters that were portrayed throughout the story along with the ending itself. When Harriet Bird, the women Roy met on the train, heard that Roy had a chance to be the best in the league, she decided to try and kill him by firing a bullet into his stomach. This had no relevance to the story and it seemed unusual.
I also didn't like the way the owner of Roy's major league team ran the organization. Judge Goodwill Barns, the owner of the Knights, tried to find an easy way to make money and loose the pennant. Roy said, "Twenty-five thousand dollars for dropping a game is not enough" and the Judge replied, "Thirty and no more"(pg.228). Roy did squeeze the money out of the Judge and he was satisfied. I think that was quite selfish of the owner to do this to his team by buying off a player.
At the end of the game, the little boy turned to Roy and asked, "Say it ain't true, Roy"(pg.262). He was unable to respond and felt guilty and realized he had lost everything again. The conclusion of the story had a negative impact when the Judge paid him to lose the game and when the boy approached Roy.
This book has negativity because of Roy's bad decisions, Roy inability to listen to his coach, unable to fit in and worked toward being a team player and chose to be around shady characters. Roy was unable to stay focussed throughout the season and he chose women and money over his morals. If had chosen a different major league team, he might not have experienced his downfall and loneliness.
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Summary: The Natural a great american baseball story
Review: This book is a very good book. It is especially favored by people who like baseball. The book is about Roy Hobs and him trying to become the best in the MLB, but he gets shot and returns to the game 15 years later. He is now one of the oldest players on the team and has a hole cast of villians to cope with. I really injoyed this book probably because I like sports. I would recomend this book to anyone who loves baseballs and like a story about glory.
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Summary: REVIEW ON THE BOOK, THE NATURAL WRITTEN BY MALAMUD
Review: In the novel, The Natural, Malamud demonstrated that a man's will to succeed, no matter what obstacles he faces on his journey, will bring him great reward. The saying, "Never give up" is used frequently in life to encourage people to move forward for the sake of success. This man succeeded even after being shot and having his dreams shattered. Bernard Malamud, in The Natural, used Roy Hobbs' strength and courage to get across the idea that anything is possible with hard work and devotion. Roy Hobbs was shot in a Chicago Hotel Room while being scouted by the Chicago Cubs. Initially, his injury was thought to have ruined his career, but after numerous years of recovery, he was able to return to the baseball diamond and become the best in baseball. Roy Hobbs had the ability to play any position from right field to pitcher, and he could hit the ball better than anyone else in the league. He demonstrated his courage when riding on a train to Chicago, he agreed to a bet in which he had to strike out Walter "The Whammer" Wambold, the best hitter in baseball. Roy Hobbs was to strike out "The Whammer" for ten dollars and on three straight pitches. At first, Roy did not want to take part in the bet, but his manager, Sam Simpson, convinced him to do so. " Sam, I wish you hadn't bet that money on me, Roy said." He was not interested in striking Walter Wambold out; he agreed to do it because he was asked by his manager. Roy's manager caught for Roy and "The Whammer's" manager, Max Mercy, called strikes and balls. He wished to take no warm-up pitches; he was clearly ready for "The Whammer." Roy blew two fastballs right "down the pipe" for two strikes that literally knocked his manager over. " The third ball slithered at the batter like a meteor, the flame swallowing itself...the Whammer understood he was, in the truest sense of it, out." Roy Hobbs demonstrated his courage and confidence when he wished to take no warm-up pitches before attempting to strike out the best hitter in baseball, and he demonstrated his strength when he overpowered "The Whammer" and struck him out. This was a high point for both Roy and his manager because it proved to them that Roy had what it took to succeed in major league baseball. Roy Hobbs returned to baseball to prove once again that he had what it took to become the best in baseball and to achieve his goal of succeeding in baseball. He was placed on a team called, The Knights, who had not been doing so well in their present season and desperately needed a prospect to pull them out of the gutter. Roy Hobbs was indeed that prospect, but the coaches had yet to learn his capabilities. Roy did not play at first, but then the coach saw his hitting and fielding ability at a practice and started him in right field from then on. This is a prime example of how Roy displayed his courage and confidence. He was disappointed that he was not playing, but he did not let his anger get the best of him; he simply waited until he had the opportunity to show the coaches his athletic talents. Roy's confidence and enthusiasm spread throughout the team; the Knights improved their season and made it to the championship game. Unfortunately, Roy's wound from being shot got infected and was not in great condition. Roy had to be placed in a hospital and was told that playing in the championship game could mean the end of his baseball career. Roy did not care what the doctor's had to say; he was determined to play in the game and he did, even against the doctor's orders. He may not have been physically prepared for the game, but he was still willing to give it his best. " When the players began drifting into the clubhouse, they were surprised to see Roy there. He was wearing his uniform and slowly polishing wonderboy"(name for his bat). Roy played well in the game although he was struggling to throw, run, field, and hit. The Knights had their last at bats with a man on third and Roy Hobbs up to bat. Blood was seeping through his uniform from the wound. Roy wanted to bunt to bring in the tying run, but missed the opportunity. He struck out, but he was not disappointed. He had succeeded in playing in the game and accomplishing his goals; he had nothing to be ashamed of. Roy Hobbs displayed his devotion, strength, and courage by playing in a game that could have possibly ended his career. He made the commitment to his teammates, and he held his side of the bargain. Roy Hobbs was a man with enormous strength and courage and he demonstrated both of those qualities throughout the novel. He was a good role model for others. His teammates would have never made it as far into the season as they had without the support from Roy Hobbs. Roy's strength and courage can serve as a model for people who lack these two qualities. He is a prime example of a person who succeeded after facing numerous obstacles. Bernard Malamud was responsible for illustrating the qualities of Roy Hobbs in his novel and he did an exceptional job of explaining how anything is possible with hard work and devotion. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title
Rating:
Summary: Hobbs
Review: A very well written book, although not what I wanted or suspected. I had seen the movie growing up and I loved it. I wanted to be Roy Hobbs and Robert Redford and everything the movie was. Then I read the book. There was some discrepancies at first, but that's the norm. Then I realized something, with much disappointment. I read it thinking about the movie, thinking fairy tell ending, but no. In the book, Hobbs is not a hero, not a good guy, he's nothing you thought he would be. And therein lies my disappointment. I was looking for positive, I got negative. If you buy this book, you'll read a very well-written but ultimately depressing thing.
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Summary: A graceful parable.
Review: "The Natural" is a quiet, contemplative novel that uses the mythology of baseball to frame a poetic parable of fate...of the idea of "what could have been."
Baseball, more than any other sport, has a history composed equally of fact and legend. That's its' charm. Using that gauzy place between the real and the myth, Malamud tells the tale of Roy Hobbs, the greatest baseball player who ever lived, but who hardly ever played.
Hobbs' life, at least the part we are privy to, is shaped by his decisions and actions surrounding three women. They each, and I'm reducing this to absurdity, represent a basic ideal: home-spun decency, harsh reality and seductive temptation. It could be said that where he ends up at the end of the novel is determined solely by the choices he makes regarding each woman. His character becomes better defined as the reader discovers Hobbs' feelings towards each as well.
It's difficult not to see Robert Redford's face in the mind's eye, nor to hear Randy Newman's music in the background whilst reading the book. Those images and sounds have penetrated popular culture so deeply, it doesn't matter if you haven't seen the movie.
Read the book first, then see the movie. They actually make the other better.
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