Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
Summary: what, have you not read this book!
Review: First of all, Pop does not have a love interest in Memo, he is related to her. Second, it is not the "Slammer", it is "Whammer". You people who write the reviews think you know so much. Get your facts straight before you go and tell other people the wrong thing.
Rating:
Summary: Roy Hobbs and America's Favorite Pastime
Review: The sound of bat whipping against the ball, the smell of the leather from the gloves perfuming the air, and the cheers and jeers of the crowd, are many of the elements found in Bernard Malamud's, "The Natural". In the 1952 novel, Roy Hobbs, the story's protagonist and hero, is considered by many to old and out of his prime. But Roy, with his stubborn demeanor and special bat, "Wonderboy", proves his critics wrong. Malamud takes you out to the ballpark on warm summer days, where Roy is on a "quest" to bring the last place Knights, out of the cellar and into the spotlight. Roy's task isn't easy with the likes of Harriet Bird and Memo Paris standing close by. Malamud offers a variety of motifs and allusions in The Natural. The "bird" motif pops up when Roy feels "caged" and inhibited. The 1919 White Sox gambling scandal can also be found in the novel. The incident where Roy succeeds in smashing a homerun for a sick little boy, offers insight into Roy's hero-like qualities. Malamud also depicts the life of the "old-timey" ballplayers, with their endless nights of club-hopping and alcohol. This type of behavior is also prevalent in many of today's athletes. With his back against the wall, Roy Hobbs and "Wonderboy", do battle with the gamblers, the owner, and his love interests, to take the Knights to the pennant race.
Rating:
Summary: A Natural Hit
Review: A natural is defined as one who has natural talent, especially in baseball. In Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel, The Natural, written in Arthurian legend style, Roy Hobbs leads the New York Knights into victory after victory. With his trusty Excalibur-like bat dubbed "Wonderboy", Hobbs uses his natural talent and leads the Knights on a mythical quest for the pennant. In contrast, however, a natural may also mean, as it did in the Middle Ages, an innocent fool. In the novel, Malamud uses both definitions to tell a story of a hero whose pride got in the way. Throughout the book, Malamud uses references to different colors and the passage of the seasons as Roy meets a variety of different characters. The father-like coach of the Knights Pop Fisher, his puzzling love interest Memo, the pure Iris, the crooked gambler Gus Sands, and many more diverse characters help create a theme of good versus evil. From the ballfield where Roy wages battle, to the Pot of Fire night club where Roy is confronted with evil, Malamud develops the tragic story of a hero on a grail-like quest who is tempted by the forces of evil at every turn. In the novel, written much like a play, Malamud utilizes a pastoral style to present complex ideas in a natural way. Using film-technique, which is movie-like changes in scene, Malamud shows Roy's struggle to overcome the evil in his life. Facing the fixers, the fans, the slump, and the jinx, Roy Hobbs embarks on a mythical quest to battle pride and evil in a classic tale of the tarnishing of an American icon.
Rating:
Summary: The Bird of Basesball
Review: Roy was just a semipro player when a scout found him and begged to help bring him a career in baseball. The story begins during Roy's journey on the train to Chicago in order to get into the game as a pro. It is a dream come true for Roy, who has all faith in himself to become a legend. He has his share of troubles, and at times remains in a state of despair as he journeys to the top. Some, like Harriet Bird and Bump Bailey, wish greatly to bring him down for their own gain. Others, however, want Roy to achieve success as badly as he wants it for himself. Pop Fisher, the manager of the Knights only wants to help Roy succeed. While reading The Natural, by Bernard Malamud, one soon discovers his use of motifs and themes in this great story of baseball. Throughout this novel, Malamud links his story with allusions of past historical events in baseball. Perhaps Roy Hobbs reminds you of Babe Ruth and perhaps you notice the White Sox scandal of 1919 somewhere in the novel. Malamud also makes reference to Roy's bat "Wonderboy" as his lance, linking the story to a time of legends and knights (Knights also being the team Roy plays for).There are elements of comedy like Pop Fisher, the manager, and his odd rash, and elements of tragedy, too. Roy's want for success is paralleled with his desire for food and his overconsumption, and also is linked to his desire for the love of Memo Paris. Malamud also uses the train theme from the beginning as a source of constant motion for Roy's life. Roy encounters many women that he intends to love and their relationships spin out of control like the game of baseball he plays for The Knights. Roy discovers he is not always free like a bird, sometimes even "caged", which is another motif Malamud includes in the novel, showing the nievity and suseptability of people. Roy is a bird of baseball in this incredible novel by Bernard Malamud, which solidifies the game of baseball for your own understanding and enjoyment.
Rating:
Summary: Roy Hobbs: A Knight in more than one way
Review: The main character of the novel, Roy, plays ball for the New York Knights but also resembles a knight from an Arthurian legend. He participates in many duals, all testing of his ability. First, he challenges "the Whammer," the American League batting champion, in a three pitch dual. Then the Knights best pitcher, Fowler, tries to get a ball past Roy but he hits all of his pitches over the fence. A motif that Malamud reveals all throughout the novel is the fall of a hero, which happens to Roy not only on the field but to himself. For Roy, the ultimate goal in baseball is to be the best there ever was. Unfortunately for Roy, all he thinks that is important is baseball and he is blind to the persons around him who await his downfall. Malamud manages to make baseball into a mythical and magical sport where the ballpark becomes an arena and the players become knights, dualing for every pitch. Roy uses a bat that is his Excalibur, it cracks with thunder and flashes like lightning when he swings. The players race to catch fly balls and the batters charge around the bases to get extra base hits. The novel takes a central focus on Roy's baseball career, but also includes a psychological aspect and a romantic part of Roy. I would recomend this novel to anyone who likes baseball, but also to those interested in seeing the quest of a man and how baseball defines him. I give the novel four stars becuase Malamud uses accurate historical allusions with a sense of importance; he expands on meaningful passages but breifly states things as fast as they happen. For instance, when Roy hits a homer against Fowler, Malamud simply writes that he sends it 20 rows deep in center field. But as Roy strikes out "the Whammer," Malamud extends into how "the Whammer" was growing old and describes the third strike like a crashing planet. But overall the book maintains a good pace and keeps the reader entertained but also manages to sneak in thoughtful insights.
Rating:
Summary: Gloomy compared to movie
Review: The book is great. But, it doesn't have the same inspirational kick as the movie. The book is better at showing the corruption of the sport. It is very well written and I recommend it to any baseball fan. But, if you are looking for an inspirational story, like the movie offers, I would rent the movie instead of reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: "The Natural" and Arthurian Legend
Review: This is an exceptional novel. Like so many other outstanding works of fiction, it operates on several different levels. It's a great story about baseball. It has many parallels to the legends of King Arthur. Perhaps most importantly, it is the story of a man whose true happiness eludes him while he uses his strength and talent to gain that happiness for himself. His happiness only comes when he surrenders to the forces which guide his life.
Rating:
Summary: deeper level to this book that most miss
Review: The deeper meaning of this book is worth looking into. The analogy of King Arthur/Lancelot/Gueneviere's fall and their bringing down the moral kingdom is reflected in this fantasy. There have been many articles and a thesis done on Malamud's deep meaning.
Rating:
Summary: The Natural
Review: This book, is good if you like american style baseball!
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