Scan barcode
A review by amymo73
The Natural by Bernard Malamud
3.0
First off, there will be spoilers here. So brace yourself. I know what you're thinking: "But I've already seen the movie, Amy. Of course I know what happens." No. No you don't. I knew the book was very different from the movie, and the movie was an important part of my pre-teen years. My brother informed me once the key difference is that in the book "Roy Hobbs is an asshole."
Yes. Yes he is.
There are parts of the book, particularly the beginning, which ring true to the movie. But when Hobbs returns to the game, the stories diverge. And to be honest, I have a hard time liking Roy Hobbs. Is he the hero of the story? Or is our protagonist a villain? I have conflicting feelings about Hobbs, in particular because I love the movie so much. But by the end, I have a strong dislike for him. He not only took the money, he tried to take the money and STILL win -- of course after he found out he knocked up Iris, whom he didn't seem to really like because he was awestruck by Memo and, in fact, took the money so that he could create a future with Memo. Really Roy?
There is an interesting full-circle in the book. Roy always wants to be known as the "best there ever was" and recognized in the street. Instead at the end, he stared into the faces of people and nobody recognized him. Then his shady life story hits the papers complete with the baseball commissioner saying he will be banned from baseball. A kid says, "Say it ain't so, Roy." Wow. Bernard Malamud went total cliche with that one.
It's difficult for me to rate this book because of my attachment to the movie. I'm not sure if I liked it. But I didn't hate it. In the end, I'm glad I read it.
Yes. Yes he is.
There are parts of the book, particularly the beginning, which ring true to the movie. But when Hobbs returns to the game, the stories diverge. And to be honest, I have a hard time liking Roy Hobbs. Is he the hero of the story? Or is our protagonist a villain? I have conflicting feelings about Hobbs, in particular because I love the movie so much. But by the end, I have a strong dislike for him. He not only took the money, he tried to take the money and STILL win -- of course after he found out he knocked up Iris, whom he didn't seem to really like because he was awestruck by Memo and, in fact, took the money so that he could create a future with Memo. Really Roy?
There is an interesting full-circle in the book. Roy always wants to be known as the "best there ever was" and recognized in the street. Instead at the end, he stared into the faces of people and nobody recognized him. Then his shady life story hits the papers complete with the baseball commissioner saying he will be banned from baseball. A kid says, "Say it ain't so, Roy." Wow. Bernard Malamud went total cliche with that one.
It's difficult for me to rate this book because of my attachment to the movie. I'm not sure if I liked it. But I didn't hate it. In the end, I'm glad I read it.