The Natural

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Summary: The American Game of Life
Review: Bernard Malamud uses symbolism and allusions to portray baseball as the quest of the American dream and not just a simple game He uses the women in Roy's life to symbolize the evil in society. The more time Roy devotes to them the worse his game gets because the women corrupt him. Roy plays his best when he seems pure which is why the color white is used in the book to describe Roy's bat. Wonderboy, the bat, symbolizes what seems pure in life. When one stays pure he will succeed in life, but when one contaminates himself with earthly pleasures those tools brought his success will terminate. The boy that he is asked to save by hitting a homerun symolizes all that is good in the human race. When one strives to do good for others than to attempt to achieve personal success for himself he will be more successful. Roy steps up for his first at bat of the game which happends to be in the ninth inning with the game on the line. He hits the third pitch with all his collossol might and sends the ball soaring out of the stands. His success is directly linked with his goal of helping others. Bernard Malamud also uses allusions to better establish baseball as the America of the twenties. He uses the allusion of Roy hitting the homerun to save the boy's life to Babe Ruth's mythical feat when he promises a dieing child that he would hit him a homerun if he will get better. He also has pop falling on his way around third to a player in the 1905 world series who lost the game for his team. The allusion shows no matter how close Pop gets he can never quiet reach his goals, just like in life. In baseball things do not always work out the way a person would want them to, but that is how life is and why Bernard Malamud wrote The Natural.

Rating:
Summary: ewww....wtf
Review: my class had to read this book for a book report, and it was like falling asleep every 2 pages of the book. like one person outta like 30 actually read it. I WOULD NEVER recommend this book to anyone, PLUS i love reading books...... sometimes lol. if you are forced into reading somethin so bad like this, i feel ur sympathy. good luck yoo.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
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: 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.

Rating:
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.