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Novels and Stories of the 1940s & 50s: The Natural / The Assistant / Stories
Eulogizing him in 1986, Saul Bellow pronounced that Bernard Malamud “in his novels and stories discovered a sort of communicative genius in the impoverished, harsh jargon of immigrant New York. He was a myth maker, a fabulist, a writer of exquisite parables.” With this volume, The Library of America initiates a three-volume edition celebrating, in Bellow’s words, “a rich original of the first rank.”
At age thirty-eight, after a long apprenticeship writing stories, Bernard Malamud published his first book, The Natural (1952), and instantly redefined the possibilities of sports fiction. Reimagining the colorful characters and storied episodes of baseball lore, Malamud imbued the tale of Roy Hobbs—a once promising prospect whose first chance at a big-league career had been sabotaged by a deranged female fan—with the grandeur of myth. Armed with Wonderboy, his beloved bat, Roy leads his New York Knights in an unlikely run at the league pennant. The quest leads him ever deeper into a thicket of intrigue involving the team’s venal owner, the manager’s irresistible niece, and Roy’s own insatiable appetites.
The son of a cash-strapped Brooklyn grocer, Malamud transformed the bleak world of his youth into fiction in his next novel, The Assistant (1957). Aging shopkeeper Morris Bober has sunk his entire life into a modest grocery that has long been on the verge of failure. An armed robbery at the store seems another crushing blow, yet it brings about a change more momentous than he could have expected when one of the perpetrators, a drifter from the West named Frank Alpine, is shaken with remorse and comes to work for Morris. Within the confines of the claustrophobic storefront and the surrounding neighborhood, Malamud creates a riveting drama about suffering, endurance, and the possibility of redemption.
“I have discovered a short-story writer who is better than any of them, including myself,” Flannery O’Connor wrote in 1958 after reading Malamud’s first story collection, The Magic Barrel, which won the first of his two National Book Awards. This Library of America volume presents Malamud’s complete short fiction of the 1940s and 50s: twenty-five stories and the first chapter of an unfinished novel. In the taut prose of tales such as “The Bill,” “The Loan,” and “The Cost of Living,” Malamud explored the close-to-the-bone world of the Brooklyn he knew. As he evolved as a writer his stories became more surreal and fantastic, perhaps most unforgettably in the masterpiece “The Magic Barrel.” Several beguiling tales set in Italy, inspired by his year in Rome in 1956–57, show Malamud making his distinctive contribution to the enduring theme of the American abroad, and reveal yet another facet of his development as a storyteller.
At age thirty-eight, after a long apprenticeship writing stories, Bernard Malamud published his first book, The Natural (1952), and instantly redefined the possibilities of sports fiction. Reimagining the colorful characters and storied episodes of baseball lore, Malamud imbued the tale of Roy Hobbs—a once promising prospect whose first chance at a big-league career had been sabotaged by a deranged female fan—with the grandeur of myth. Armed with Wonderboy, his beloved bat, Roy leads his New York Knights in an unlikely run at the league pennant. The quest leads him ever deeper into a thicket of intrigue involving the team’s venal owner, the manager’s irresistible niece, and Roy’s own insatiable appetites.
The son of a cash-strapped Brooklyn grocer, Malamud transformed the bleak world of his youth into fiction in his next novel, The Assistant (1957). Aging shopkeeper Morris Bober has sunk his entire life into a modest grocery that has long been on the verge of failure. An armed robbery at the store seems another crushing blow, yet it brings about a change more momentous than he could have expected when one of the perpetrators, a drifter from the West named Frank Alpine, is shaken with remorse and comes to work for Morris. Within the confines of the claustrophobic storefront and the surrounding neighborhood, Malamud creates a riveting drama about suffering, endurance, and the possibility of redemption.
“I have discovered a short-story writer who is better than any of them, including myself,” Flannery O’Connor wrote in 1958 after reading Malamud’s first story collection, The Magic Barrel, which won the first of his two National Book Awards. This Library of America volume presents Malamud’s complete short fiction of the 1940s and 50s: twenty-five stories and the first chapter of an unfinished novel. In the taut prose of tales such as “The Bill,” “The Loan,” and “The Cost of Living,” Malamud explored the close-to-the-bone world of the Brooklyn he knew. As he evolved as a writer his stories became more surreal and fantastic, perhaps most unforgettably in the masterpiece “The Magic Barrel.” Several beguiling tales set in Italy, inspired by his year in Rome in 1956–57, show Malamud making his distinctive contribution to the enduring theme of the American abroad, and reveal yet another facet of his development as a storyteller.
712 pages, Hardcover
First published February 27, 2014
2 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Bernard Malamud
159 books488 followersBernard Malamud was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Norman Mailer and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseball novel, The Natural, was adapted into a 1984 film starring Robert Redford. His 1966 novel The Fixer (also filmed), about antisemitism in the Russian Empire, won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 2, 2021
Well I thought this was a great collection.
“The Natural” was fun to read. It was fast paced and vivid. The only real complaint I have was just that the characters weren’t terribly likable. I didn’t really enjoy them as people. It was also quite tragic in many ways.
On the whole it was a great book and I’m glad I read it.
The next book in this collection was “The Assistant”
I remember reading this book as a teen and feeling deeply moved—so much so that I cried and spent hours imagining a different ending. I don’t know if I’ve gotten old and bitter or what, but I didn’t feel too many deep feelings while reading the book this time. I mean, I felt bad for everyone, for sure. The ending was a bummer, no doubt about that.
I think I liked the characters more in “The Assistant” than I did in “The Natural” and I think the writing was richer.
Now, when it comes to the 20 stories, let me tell you, there are some great stories in this collection. Of course there’s “The Magic Barrel” but everyone knows about that story, it’s super famous. There is also the fantastic “The lady if the Lake” and “The Maid’s Shoes” both set in Italy. “Behold the Key” was another Story set in Italy that was fabulous. “The Death of Me” was great, as was “The Bill.”
Several of the stories were most excellent.
However, it is true that there were a couple of stories—perhaps a few too many—that were stories about failing grocery stores. Some of the grocery store stories felt very much like the same plot as “The Assistant”—or some aspect of said plot.
Reading this book, I was starting to get a little frustrated because I needed to finish the book to get it back to the library on time and I was getting tired of reading the same story over and over again.
With that being said, Bernard Malamud is an amazing writer. His stories are brilliant, deeply moving, and beautiful written. I recommend this collection to anyone who feels like reading something great.
“The Natural” was fun to read. It was fast paced and vivid. The only real complaint I have was just that the characters weren’t terribly likable. I didn’t really enjoy them as people. It was also quite tragic in many ways.
On the whole it was a great book and I’m glad I read it.
The next book in this collection was “The Assistant”
I remember reading this book as a teen and feeling deeply moved—so much so that I cried and spent hours imagining a different ending. I don’t know if I’ve gotten old and bitter or what, but I didn’t feel too many deep feelings while reading the book this time. I mean, I felt bad for everyone, for sure. The ending was a bummer, no doubt about that.
I think I liked the characters more in “The Assistant” than I did in “The Natural” and I think the writing was richer.
Now, when it comes to the 20 stories, let me tell you, there are some great stories in this collection. Of course there’s “The Magic Barrel” but everyone knows about that story, it’s super famous. There is also the fantastic “The lady if the Lake” and “The Maid’s Shoes” both set in Italy. “Behold the Key” was another Story set in Italy that was fabulous. “The Death of Me” was great, as was “The Bill.”
Several of the stories were most excellent.
However, it is true that there were a couple of stories—perhaps a few too many—that were stories about failing grocery stores. Some of the grocery store stories felt very much like the same plot as “The Assistant”—or some aspect of said plot.
Reading this book, I was starting to get a little frustrated because I needed to finish the book to get it back to the library on time and I was getting tired of reading the same story over and over again.
With that being said, Bernard Malamud is an amazing writer. His stories are brilliant, deeply moving, and beautiful written. I recommend this collection to anyone who feels like reading something great.
August 31, 2017
Both included novels are excellent. The Natural looks at the mythic hero through baseball. The Assistant is a bleak but hopeful tale of Jewish suffering and redemption. I didn't think the stories quite lived up to the standards of the novels though. While there are some very good ones, the majority were pretty average. Several were about Jewish grocers and explored the same themes or even used the exact same scenes as The Assistant. It's interesting to see how the novel developed, but doesn't make for a great read back to back.
February 1, 2019
Read all the short stories in this volume including most of what was originally published as "The Magic Barrel". All were period pieces mostly about poor working class people. There were a couple of charming stories set in Italy. I highly recommend this volume if you are getting started reading Bernard Malamud
May 26, 2019
Good but not great. I enjoyed this as a glimpse into a totally alien culture; urban, Jewish, and decades ago. Why then, did it feel so familiar? The big stores are squeezing out the local shops. Poor people are desperate. Young people nurse dreams that are far to big for their reality. And we all seek redemption.
April 3, 2025
2 novels:
***** The Natural
***** The Assistant
***** 20 Stories:
***** The Natural
***** The Assistant
***** 20 Stories:
Benefit Performance6 Posthumously Published Stories:
The Place Is Different Now
Steady Customer
The Literary Life of Laban Goldman
The Cost of Living
The Prison
The First Seven Years
The Death of Me
The Bill
An Apology
The Loan
The Girl of My Dreams
The Magic Barrel
The Mourners
Angel Levine
A Summer’s Reading
Take Pity
The Lady of the Lake
Behold the Key
The Maid’s Shoes
Armistice
Spring Rain
The Grocery Store
A Confession of Murder
Riding Pants
The Elevator
March 27, 2015
The Natural is NOT like the movie, rather a downbeat book, better actually. The Fixer is a National Book Award winner and is a excellent read. 20 or so shorts stories are included and they are also very, very smooth and well-written. Malamund is an author worth your time and effort. I look forward to the second volume of material from Malamud in the Library of America series. They seem to get the very best from their printed authors.
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May 5, 2014Fiction M236no 2013
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews