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joe64louis's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cseibs's review against another edition
2.0
I like a good, All-American Novel, and the plot line delivered in that respect. However, I failed to see the "poetic" nature of Malamud's flat prose, which so many other reviewers seem to have fallen for. I also can't get over the rampant misogyny of the book. I get that the novel was written in and for another time, but I still can't stomach how 'dames' are always Roy's downfall, with no clear culpability placed on Roy. Having seen and loved the movie, made in and for a slightly more enlightened time, the book strikes me as a disappointment.
tstuppy's review against another edition
4.0
Great book about the pursuit of greatness and the perils of being in your mid-thirties.
truequeenofchaos's review against another edition
1.0
The Natural is a classic, and was even made into a movie years ago, so I expected the book to be decent. It wasn't at all. Within five minutes of the main character meeting a female, he would just start feeling her up, whether she'd given consent or not. And when they would tell him "no", he would get pissed off and continue to advance on them. That's repulsive. He did this to several women throughout the book, and at times, it was a little graphic. The actual baseball plot-line wasn't all that interesting either. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
dr_evan's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jamelchior's review against another edition
5.0
I was fascinated by the way this classic baseball story slips back and forth between reality and a magical, dreamlike state, one in which, for example, the damaged hero Roy promises to tear the cover off the ball and then literally does. Characters sometimes feel human, sometimes feel like Jungian archetypes. It’s a great read for anyone whose team just lost the playoffs and anyone that ever struggled with self-sabotage and couldn’t figure out why.
adambongobooks's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing. I never really gave older writing styles a try. The characters are absolutely amazing. They aren't fun, they are crazily pessimistic, and it's like watching a trainwreck. I couldn't keep watching. I absolutely love Roy Hobbs as a character because he's so...odd. He is a grumpy, middle-aged man, who feels entitled yet he's never satisfied. I think his downfall is that he can't accept anything he has. Baseball fans or not will enjoy this book. I truly loved this one.
bupdaddy's review against another edition
1.0
I can't believe how little Malamud apparently knew baseball. I tried to understand this book three different ways - first, as a remarkable story set in the real world. NFW. Second, as a surreal fairy-tale/morality play, a la Coelho's [b:The Alchemist|865|The Alchemist|Paulo Coelho|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1483412266l/865._SY75_.jpg|4835472]. No, Malamud simply seems to believe what he wrote too much. I mean, there are obviously surreal elements, but Malamud didn't make the full commitment. It's just not that. Third, as a kid's book. Almost, until you get to the end. He really thought he had something powerful for adults.
The book's just a mess. Malamud just doesn't understand baseball. Most of the book, at-bats go three pitches. Exactly three pitches (leading me to think hey-maybe-it's-surreal. If I were to rewrite the book that's the direction I'd take. But I'd stick with it. Which convinces me he didn't get how baseball is.) The titular Roy Hobbs also has way too much control - fouling pitches where he wants them to go, consecutively. But you know, only for two pitches, because the third pitch has to end the at-bat.
The plot emerges as organized as sputum, with plenty of metaphorical guns-hung-over-the-mantel* that get forgotten, and places where Roy does the right thing only to undo it. To his fault, Malamud used one historical incident where a player got shot by a crazy woman in a hotel room, but he uses it randomly, seemingly tacked onto the front of a story about something else. To his credit, Robert Redford took a novel called The Natural and used it randomly, making a good movie out of a couple of random pieces therein.
People who like [a:Jerry B. Jenkins|15412|Jerry B. Jenkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1675609877p2/15412.jpg]' overt, confused moralizing might like this book. People who like those glurgy e-mails that seem to say something uplifting until you really think about it, might like this book. I don't.
*can be spelled either mantel or mantle. I didn't know.
The book's just a mess. Malamud just doesn't understand baseball. Most of the book, at-bats go three pitches. Exactly three pitches (leading me to think hey-maybe-it's-surreal. If I were to rewrite the book that's the direction I'd take. But I'd stick with it. Which convinces me he didn't get how baseball is.) The titular Roy Hobbs also has way too much control - fouling pitches where he wants them to go, consecutively. But you know, only for two pitches, because the third pitch has to end the at-bat.
The plot emerges as organized as sputum, with plenty of metaphorical guns-hung-over-the-mantel* that get forgotten, and places where Roy does the right thing only to undo it. To his fault, Malamud used one historical incident where a player got shot by a crazy woman in a hotel room, but he uses it randomly, seemingly tacked onto the front of a story about something else. To his credit, Robert Redford took a novel called The Natural and used it randomly, making a good movie out of a couple of random pieces therein.
People who like [a:Jerry B. Jenkins|15412|Jerry B. Jenkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1675609877p2/15412.jpg]' overt, confused moralizing might like this book. People who like those glurgy e-mails that seem to say something uplifting until you really think about it, might like this book. I don't.
*can be spelled either mantel or mantle. I didn't know.
tittypete's review against another edition
3.0
When I was a kid I saw this movie a bunch. I remembered it being about the best baseball player of all time. He had a home made bat and would knock the cover off the ball. It was awesome. But I just the story was really about a guy who was good at baseball but kind of a piece of shit. He's really gropy and ruins his career over a woman that sucks. Towards the end he pigs out so much he almost can't swing a bat anymore(?). Then he throws it all away sorta gambling.
Because poignance and symbolism or something.
Because poignance and symbolism or something.