Appearance
The Natural
Cynical and surrealistic, Bernard Malamud's commanding 1952 baseball novel "The Natural" presents the dark side of America's sunniest pastime. The central character Roy Hobbs never becomes a hero in the conventional sense, and his name (Roy = King, Hob = clown) implies an enigmatic contradiction. Indeed, at the height of his fame, it's revealed that the King of the Game has worked as a circus clown. As a youth, Roy is all set for the majors until a strange attack from a Kundryesque temptress leaves him wounded; and for fifteen years he wanders aimlessly, to all appearances lost. {The novel opens on a speeding Pullman, and Roy is described as "traveling (on the train that never stopped.")} When finally he re-enters the profession, he joins the Knights led by Pop Fisher. This "jinxed" team is going through a wasteland of a season, "glum and red-eyed ... they moved around listlessly and cursed each step." The knight errant proves to be their salvation, depicted in one scene as being "in full armor, mounted on a black charger". He will only step up to the plate with his own bat, an Excalibur-like weapon called Wonderboy. Roy becomes increasingly popular and powerful (he, of course, has a "day"), but he also becomes more demanding. (His greed is symbolized by a voracious appetite: after stuffing himself at a rich buffet, he goes to a coffee shop, where he downs six hamburgers at one sitting.) You just know a slump is coming, and when it does Roy resorts to medieval superstitions, spitting between his fingers when he sees a black cat and sewing amulets inside his clothes. Then the inevitable temptation to his greed is offered, and Roy is too far corrupted to completely resist. In a sense, he is sacrificed, as the Clown or Fool must be. The admiring introduction to this edition was written by Kevin Baker, who points out that the novel is "juiced with the cynicism and disillusionment that permeated American letters in the years after the war." He notes, "It is hard to find a truly likable character in the book", and this is true. A cityscape populated by figures deranged and deformed, "The Natural" reminds one of a powerful canvas by George Grosz. Incidentally, I missed the 1984 movie version, but it's probably just as well. Robert Redford would be all wrong as Roy Hobbs. And I hate to break this to Kevin Costner fans, but this book is not dripping with Karo syrup, nor is there a "magical" conclusion in which a hero plays catch with his long-dead Dad.
The Natural
In this masterful book, Bernard Malamud takes our most myth-laden game and overlays a fantasy story about the man who could have been the best ballplayer who ever lived. The story propels you onward through the season of Roy Hobbs' return to baseball and to society, as you marvel at his on-field feats and laugh at the reactions of his manager, teammates, and team owner. Throw in a pair of love interests -- one being the unattainable beauty Memo and the other (Iris) being the warm, mothering type who Roy really needs -- and you have as amazing array of subtexts and subplots for such a small book."The Natural" isn't just a baseball story, though the baseball elements are portrayed with great accuracy. Each baseball vignette starts out as if it's "regular" baseball -- a great hitter, a fastball pitcher, players spitting in the dirt, and so on. But Malamud spins them all out of proportion, as Hobbs brings his homemade bat, Wonderboy, to the plate and does the impossible. In one game, Hobbs literally destroys the baseball with a swing. In another, he hits a ball that starts out so low that it goes through the pitcher's legs, then rises just above the 2nd baseman's glove, and soars upward out beyond the centerfield fence. And in the fateful last at-bat of Wonderboy, the cracking of the bat sounds like thunder and actually brings some raindrops onto the field.These mythic circumstances are balanced by the mysterious, inspiring and infuriating story of Hobbs himself. He's introduced as a backwoods phenom on his way by train to Chicago for his major league tryout. He's such a hick that he doesn't know how to order from a menu. And when his fastball accidentally kills the scout who is promoting him, he's left alone in the big city, with tragic consequences. Then, fast-forward 15 years, and Hobbs again wanders in from the wilderness, this time to take the National League and the straggling New York Knights by storm. Through the heart of the book, he wills the team from last place towards first place through his awesome play and the determination he shows on the field.But at every step, tragedy follows. Hobbs' passions are so intense, his flame burns so bright, that he leaves death and destruction in his wake over and over again. He also shows himself to be so crass and single-minded that he pushes for what he wants --- even when he realizes that he is harming other people. He's bigger than everyone else (in a mythical sense), and he can't help leaving them in his wake.It's a great book. Is it as easy to read as today's current fiction? No. Is it as crowd-pleasing as the movie, "The Natural"? No. But it does two things that make the movie also memorable: capturing the spunk of Depression-era baseball, and making the achievements of Roy Hobbs larger than life.
The Natural
Great book. Nice dust jacket. This is a classic story of a man finding out what he's really made of. Love this story.
The Natural
My father was an English teacher who also happened to be a baseball fanatic, and I still have his marked-up copy of "The Natural" somewhere in the basement. He actually built an entire English class around baseball fiction, with this book as its centerpiece.You can't help but appreciate the humanness of Hobbs as the book moves along, picking up steam much like the locomotives that are often used as a metaphor.My favorite character is probably Pop - what a great, colorful caricature of a crusty old manager who lives and dies with every batted ball and terrific throw."The Natural" is the standard by which all other baseball novels - including mine, The King's Game - are judged. And that's how it should be.And other reviewers are right - you'll never see the book's ending coming if you saw the movie first, but that's a good thing. This ending feels more real, more true, more human.A classic!-- John Nemo, author of the baseball novel The King's Game
The Natural
I thought the movie "The Natural" was great. The story the book tells is even better. I think that each of the different tellings works for the different medium in which it is presented. I won't ruin it for readers by giving it away, but it's worth a read.The only criticism I have with the book is I'm not a huge fan of Malamud's writing style. I have read several of the reviews stating that's the best thing about the book, but I don't see it. I sometimes felt like the writing got in the way of the story, rather than moved it along.
The Natural
Cynical and surrealistic, Bernard Malamud's commanding 1952 baseball novel "The Natural" presents the dark side of America's sunniest pastime. The central character Roy Hobbs never becomes a hero in the conventional sense, and his name (Roy = King, Hob = clown) implies an enigmatic contradiction. Indeed, at the height of his fame, it's revealed that the King of the Game has worked as a circus clown. As a youth, Roy is all set for the majors until a strange attack from a Kundryesque temptress leaves him wounded; and for fifteen years he wanders aimlessly, to all appearances lost. {The novel opens on a speeding Pullman, and Roy is described as "traveling (on the train that never stopped.")} When finally he re-enters the profession, he joins the Knights led by Pop Fisher. This "jinxed" team is going through a wasteland of a season, "glum and red-eyed ... they moved around listlessly and cursed each step." The knight errant proves to be their salvation, depicted in one scene as being "in full armor, mounted on a black charger". He will only step up to the plate with his own bat, an Excalibur-like weapon called Wonderboy. Roy becomes increasingly popular and powerful (he, of course, has a "day"), but he also becomes more demanding. (His greed is symbolized by a voracious appetite: after stuffing himself at a rich buffet, he goes to a coffee shop, where he downs six hamburgers at one sitting.) You just know a slump is coming, and when it does Roy resorts to medieval superstitions, spitting when he sees a black cat and sewing amulets inside his clothes. Then the inevitable temptation to his greed is offered, and Roy is too far corrupted to completely resist. In a sense, he is sacrificed, as the Clown or Fool must be. The admiring introduction to this edition was written by Kevin Baker, who points out that the novel is "juiced with the cynicism and disillusionment that permeated American letters in the years after the war." He notes, "It is hard to find a truly likable character in the book", and this is true. A cityscape populated by figures deranged and deformed, "The Natural" reminds one of a powerful canvas by George Grosz. Incidently, I missed the 1984 movie version, but it's probably just as well. Robert Redford would be all wrong as Roy Hobbs. And I hate to break this to Kevin Costner fans, but this book is not dripping with Karo syrup, nor is there a "magical" conclusion in which a hero plays catch with his long-dead Dad.