Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful, even for those who are not into baseball
Review: Although I am not into baseball that much, I could not put the book down. And after I finished the book, I immediately rented the movie version. Both pieces are worth the time to read or see, even though they differ in some elements. In both, the viewer will find them selves rooting for the team and players like he was really there, and on their toes in anticipation of the next turn in the plot.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a great book!
Review: This is a book that every fan of baseball should read. The movie made from this book was wonderful too but the director changed many things from the original story to give it a happier ending. Malamud's classic tale of Roy Hobbs is about good vs. evil and desire vs. temptation. Sure, the book may be dark, intense and even tragic but one must remember that it wasn't written with Robert Redford and Glenn Close in mind! I believe the book was written in the 50's which, along with The Mick, Joltin' Joe and our other baseball heroes, also brought us corruption, McCarthyism and a strict social and moral order. The book is the great "American Tragedy" and should be a must-read for everyone who truly loves baseball fiction!
Rating: 
Summary: don't bother, watch the movie instead
Review: this is one of those rare instances in literary history when a film adaptation of a book is far more complex and inspiring than the book ever hoped to be. The addition of the Glenn Close character as having been a childhood sweetheart tied the film together with respect to Roy and her relationship much better than Malamud did. Roy's character is a shallow and selfish man who doesn't know a good thing when he sees it. The film's Roy at least has a sense of what is right and wrong(in some areas of his life). My advice to anyone is to enjoy one of the best movies ever made and forget about the The Natural by Bernard Malamud.
Rating:
Summary: Roy Hobbs: Two Faces
Review: Although they are two different stories, the book and the moviewere both phenominal. Hollywood turns Roy Hobbs into a mythical hero,a good guy with great talent and an even greater commitment. A man who choses winning over money, morals over cheap thrills. The way Malamud portrays Hobbs is quite different, but still tremendously entertaining. Despite the potential of being "the best there ever was," Roy Hobbs could not overcome hubris, greed, and lust.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful...In a weird sort of way
Review: This is one of the few books where it is made into a movie but both are very enjoyable. If only this was true for all books turned movies (aka "The Horse Whisperer"). This book was not exactly a feel good book, but it was one of the most suspenseful I've ever read that didn't involve murder and mystery. READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: it was bad
Review: this was the worst book I have ever rea
Rating:
Summary: The Natural was a "Natural" porn
Review: The Natural was very disappointing. It seemed a sports fans pornography. It described women's bodies in such an obscene way that it could make anyone blush. The use of sex to rush out of real life for Roy Hobbs was revolting and extremely dissatisfying. Bernard Malamud made it seem as if a baseball players life is all sex and money. I find this book unsatisfying and an utterly gross picture of the way Malamud describes life. The fantsies of these women were shown as carefree and a perfectly good thing. If one likes to read about sex then, this book would be a wonderful piece of disgusting and defiling literature.
Rating:
Summary: Life does not always have a Hollywood ending
Review: Comparing "The Natural" the book to "The Natural" the movie is like comparing a fine multi-course meal to a big chocolate cake. Both are fine to eat, but expect a lot more variety and nuance out of the meal, not just the sweetness of the dessert. The book is the dark story of a strong and talented man ultimately taken down by his weaknesses. The movie is completely the opposite -- a typical Hollywood story of a hero overcoming adversity to emerge triumphant. Having read the book before seeing the movie, I was appalled at the movie's complete change of message from the book. Although I can understand the point of view of those who came to the book after the movie, it seems a bit simplistic to fault it on the basis that the ending was a bummer because it was not the happy one of the movie. Hollywood has always done that trick well -- "Breaking Away", "Hoosiers", "Rocky" etc. etc. etc. And they -- along with "The Natural" -- are good movies. But Malamud's true genius in "The Natural" (the book!) is that Roy Hobbs is not an icon -- he is a superman who turns out to be all too frail, a man on the run from the demons of his past, seeking his salvation in the power of his talents. There is nothing the matter with harmless escapism such as "The Natural" The Movie. But life is so much more complicated than that - a point which Bernard Malamud understands and commiunicates so well, and which Barry Levinson and his screenwriters have chosen to overlook.
Rating:
Summary: realistic and non-compromising
Review: Malamud's genius lies in his refusal to compromise his integrity by mythicizing his characters. Those who are disappointed with the original ending of this book fail to realize that Malamud wrote his characters as they would occur in real life: dull, dumb, and error-prone. Luckily, Malamud could sift out of his stories the elements that make us all human, causing us to empathize with his characters and become engrossed in his depressing yet compelling novels.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for all Intelligent sports people out there.
Review: This is a book that uses outstanding imagery to portray the lifestyle of a major league hero to a flawed homeric character. It uses human struggles, as do all of Malamud's novels, to bring a new enlightenment to baseball and it's heroes.
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