Reviews

Jaws by Peter Benchley

infinite_finite's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Infidelity

evillmamma's review against another edition

4.0

i love the movie, but had never read the book. It's very different, and has a bunch of corny secondary plot lines that are totally unnecessary. totally dated. but fun.

1cornsread's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

jmanderson's review

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

johnjack28's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

beytwice's review against another edition

informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lynniew13's review against another edition

4.0

While I am a lifelong fan of the movie, this is my first reading of the novel. The book has many subplots developing the characters of Ellen Brody, Matt Hooper, and Larry Vaughn. The book also discusses the Brody marriage, the Mafia connection, and some racial and homophobic slurs. The book is dated, and the movie is timeless; however, I recommend reading the book if you enjoyed the movie.

Favorite lines from the book include: “The Past always seems better when you look back on it than it did at the time. And the present never looks as good as it will in the future. It’s depressing if you spend too much time reliving the old joys. You think you’ll never have anything as good again.”

Ellen Broady to Matt Hooper (Benchley 108)

justjeepin's review against another edition

4.0

Wow, quite different from the movie. Too much backstory and goes too quick once they find the shark.

leticia7662's review

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It was insane and I loved it, but sometimes I forgot this book is supposed to be about a shark. 

avoraciousreader68's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

Book source ~ Purchased at Chirp

Everyone in this book is an asshole. The End.

Just kidding. Although, not really. Chief Brody isn’t quite as bad as everyone else, but he’s still an uptight jerk most of the time. I like the movie people a bit better, especially Roy Scheider’s portrayal of the Chief. Robert Shaw got Quint’s character exactly right. Kudos!

There’s a whole backstory about why the Mayor is an ass about closing the beaches and it’s not solely because the island depends on the Summer visitors to spend money so the islanders can live through the winter without having to go on welfare. There’s more to why the newspaper editor kept the first death quiet. But then again, most books are more in-depth than a movie could possibly get. Having said that, I much prefer the movie over the book. Jaws is such a Horror Classic and Steven Spielberg masterfully put together a movie that pays homage to the book without getting bogged down in everyday life on the island, including the whiny cheating ass, Ellen Brody.  I’ve watched it many times and I put it on again after I finished the audiobook. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should. If you’re not a fan of gore (it’s not as bad as you might think) then pick up the book.