This is one of the few books I have read lately that has the power to become an instant favorite, immediately. This is a story about second chances with the setting being our national pastime.
Roy Hobbs is picked up to play the right field position for the New York Knights at the ancient age of around thirty-five and almost laughed out of the dugout. He is properly mysterious, doesn't speak about his past, and is adamant about getting a chance to play. He is hungry to prove himself, which he does once he is given a chance. He has learned from past mistakes- which robbed him of his career before he even set foot in the majors to begin with.
Written in 1952, Malamud gives us a narrative that could turn into something sentimental, or hokey, but manages to avoid being so. He crafts a protagonist that is willing to sacrifice everything he has worked for because of his integrity, who refuses to give up and fade into the background of middle age. Roy Hobbs is a man with a genuine devotion to the game, who cannot be bought, a man who named his bat "Wonderboy". Malamud's hero is still relevant today, and isn't all that different than say, Ryan Gosling's character in the film Drive. Wonderful book.
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