Bernard Malamud: Life, Writing Style, and The Natural

Early Life and Education

Bernard Malamud was the oldest son of an immigrant grocer. His parents, Max and Bertha, were Russian-Jewish immigrants who frequently worked late, so Bernard spent many hours in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn absorbing the atmosphere of the neighborhood. Times were different then, and he was allowed to stay out late as a child and wander the streets. He would skate, go sledding with friends, climb trees, and play games late into the evening. His first trip to Coney Island allowed him to see the ocean, and he fell in love with its movements (Biography Resource Center, 2004).

Malamud also enjoyed literature from an early age. He attended Erasmus Hall High School, where he began to write seriously. He made good grades, and his stories and drawings began to appear in the school magazine. He graduated from high school in 1932 and enrolled in the College of the City of New York, eventually earning his bachelor's degree in 1936. He later earned his Master's degree in literature in 1942.

Literary Style and Themes

Malamud's writings are highly distinctive and contain an old-world flair (Biography Resource Center, 2004). As Kramer (2004) writes, "Most of Malamud's fiction describes in a humorous but sympathetic way the misfortunes of city dwellers, particularly Jews." His works are populated by characters beset with problems, frequent misunderstandings, and misplaced triumphs — stories that rise into the realm of fantasy and often carry a moral lesson. Malamud wrote about what he knew: the poor, simple people among whom he grew up during the Depression. His characters are people of trade — butchers, bakers, egg peddlers, candle makers, and tailors — who labor through tears and rage as they struggle to beat back whatever threatens their livelihoods.

Malamud began as a dialect writer, one of the first to convey to the affluent, assimilated children and grandchildren of the second great wave of Jewish migration what they had left behind — or failed to leave behind — in the streets of Europe and New York. He had an extraordinary talent for capturing the lyrical soul of everyday Jewish life, focusing especially on its poorer dimensions. His stories portrayed remarkable narratives drawn from a memorable childhood and made long-term contributions across several cultural fields, crossing the line from the mythical to the realistic.

References

Boaz, Amy. "The Complete Stories." Library Journal. 117 (1997): 129.

"Bernard Malamud." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 16. Gale Research, 1995. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004.

Field, Leslie. "Bernard Malamud." Dictionary of Literary Biography, 28, Gale, 2002, pp. 166–175.

Helterman, Jeffrey. Understanding Bernard Malamud. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1985.

Kramer, Victor A. "Malamud, Bernard." World Book Online Reference Center. 2004. World Book, Inc. 2 Apr. 2004.

Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1952.

Malamud, Bernard. "Reflections of a Writer: Long Work, Short Life." New York Times. March 20, 1988. Section 7; Page 15, Column 1.

Rothstein, Mervyn. "Bernard Malamud, Author, Dies at 71." New York Times. March 20, 1986. Section D; Page 26, Column 1.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "Collection of Malamud Stories Displays Keen Vision and Insight." Sept. 11, 1997: D2.