欧宝娱乐

bup's Reviews > The Natural

The Natural by Bernard Malamud
Rate this book
Clear rating

by
504424
's review

did not like it
bookshelves: audiobook, 2009, baseball

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 The Alchemist. 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 Jerry B. Jenkins' 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.
10 likes ·  鈭� flag

Sign into 欧宝娱乐 to see if any of your friends have read The Natural.
Sign In 禄

Reading Progress

May 21, 2009 – Shelved
May 21, 2009 – Shelved as: audiobook
Started Reading
May 27, 2009 – Shelved as: 2009
May 27, 2009 – Finished Reading
July 19, 2009 – Shelved as: baseball

Comments Showing 1-1 of 1 (1 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

Carol Storm Brilliant review. But it's not just that he doesn't like baseball. He also doesn't like America, happy endings, beautiful women, and good times.


back to top