From HB, in response to my book reviews in which I mention The Mules, my book club:

“I recently read, or perhaps I reread (?), The Natural by Bernard Malamud, in good part because the movie with Robert Redford has always been one of my baseball favorites and the book popped up at a local book sale. I was stunned by how Barry Levinson took license with the plot and turned a dark and out-of-luck story into a feel-good classic. If you haven’t read it for a while, I suggest you do.”

My Response: I’ve never read the novel, but I did see the movie. I thought it was good, but slightly too upbeat/sentimental for my tastes. Never in a hundred years would I have guessed that it was based on a book by Bernard Malamud!

I’ll definitely get a copy and read it!