Reviews

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Only show reviews with written explanations

chupacobbruh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

angus_mckeogh's review against another edition

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2.0

An extremely odd classic. First the book is broken into two major sections which really aren’t connected by much that is relevant. There’s the part pertaining to the shark and there’s the secondary part that revolves around the relationships of the townsfolk. There’s a whole lot of dated material that comes across as racist, sexist, and derogatory toward homosexuals. There’s a confusing chunk which concerns a date between two strangers where the woman is discussing her fantasy of being raped and the man keeps asking if she wants to be raped by a black guy. There’s a stereotypical Irish fisherman. And honestly how exciting can you make an action sequence about a fishing trip, even if it involves a killer shark. At the end I was honestly just thinking...what the hell did I just read?

novelette's review against another edition

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4.0

Follows the movie and then....

alicesayshi's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No

3.0

A fun read that unfortunately suffers from being a product of its time re attitudes to women and POC.
Ellen Brody is a great example of r/menwritingwomen.

Content Warnings

ladybaela's review against another edition

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3.0

This one took a long time but I was reading it in sporadic segments and especially while traveling on public transport.

I think this is one of those rare cases where the film is better than the book that inspired it.

A lot of the most memorable moments in the movie are absent in the novel and it includes a subplot involving two of the characters that added little to the plot.

However it definitely had it moments and the final battle as it were against the shark was still compelling.

ian_k's review against another edition

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3.0

Could have been a lot better if the whole narrative was told from the point of view of Martin. With a strong introduction and strong ending, the second act drags and filled with parts that I couldn’t even begin to think are necessary to this story.