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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Min gode stime af fantastiske romaner fortsætter, med Dødens Gab. En historie som mange, inklusive mig selv, kender virkelig godt, men selvfølgelig fra Spielbergs film fra 1975.
Eftersigende skulle han have besluttet sig for at filmatisere bogen kort tid efter at have læst den, og man forstår hvorfor. Der er så mange stærke scener i bogen, og den er sprængfyldt med action og handling.
Det første der springer en i øjnene, når man læser bogen, er den meget simple og stærke præmis. Den lille turistby ved Long Island får besøg af en kæmpemæssig hvidhaj, som dræber byens turisme - også bogstaveligt talt. Historiens hovedperson, politimesteren Brody, må forsøge at navigere i både etiske og forretningsmæssige konsekvenser af den ubudne gæst. Samtidig foregår der et lidt forceret familie-drama i Brodys eget forhold, som komplicerer samarbejdet med den unge marine biolog, Hooper.
Bogen har et højt tempo, og handlingen er strikket godt sammen. Man er ikke i tvivl om hvor vi er på vej hen, men trædestene på vejen er alligevel overraskende nok.
Det er ikke en perfekt roman, for den har lige rigeligt familie-drama, og så er nogle af karaktererne utilsigtet karikerede, set med lidt nyere briller.
Alligevel lever bogen op til dens klassiker-status, og kan læses uanset hvor mange gang man har set Spielbergs film.
Eftersigende skulle han have besluttet sig for at filmatisere bogen kort tid efter at have læst den, og man forstår hvorfor. Der er så mange stærke scener i bogen, og den er sprængfyldt med action og handling.
Det første der springer en i øjnene, når man læser bogen, er den meget simple og stærke præmis. Den lille turistby ved Long Island får besøg af en kæmpemæssig hvidhaj, som dræber byens turisme - også bogstaveligt talt. Historiens hovedperson, politimesteren Brody, må forsøge at navigere i både etiske og forretningsmæssige konsekvenser af den ubudne gæst. Samtidig foregår der et lidt forceret familie-drama i Brodys eget forhold, som komplicerer samarbejdet med den unge marine biolog, Hooper.
Bogen har et højt tempo, og handlingen er strikket godt sammen. Man er ikke i tvivl om hvor vi er på vej hen, men trædestene på vejen er alligevel overraskende nok.
Det er ikke en perfekt roman, for den har lige rigeligt familie-drama, og så er nogle af karaktererne utilsigtet karikerede, set med lidt nyere briller.
Alligevel lever bogen op til dens klassiker-status, og kan læses uanset hvor mange gang man har set Spielbergs film.
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you are looking to read this because you think it’s about an evil shark, don’t! This story is almost exclusively about relationships and the dynamics between people, and even that didn’t have nuance. I read this 30th Anniversary edition that included a introduction which mentioned that some people believed the story was a commentary on capitalism, and that in the movie the romance was cut. So I was interested. This story is weirdly pro-cop, anti-media, misogynistic, homophobic and racist. There were many opportunities to make the narrative show these moments as bad, but it didn’t. The characters are one-dimensional and the writing is not good enough to recommend to anyone. My two stars are purely for the actual shark attack moments.
I’m going to end this review with some of the things that were unnecessary and honestly disgusting, and do not get a pass for being written in the 70’s:
- various mentions of black people as second-class, and the use of the word “bl*cks”
- a scene where the lead women admits to having (paraphrase) “one of the common women fantasies” of being raped, and goes on to describe the scene, and this is depicted as romantic
- the character that she says this to, someone she is attempting to cheat on her husband with, asks if she imagines that it is a black man, and she responds by saying no but she she knows that many women do
- the one queer character is depicted as weird and socially inept, is reffered to as a “dyke” multiple times, and there are multiple uses of the word “c*cksucker” as an insult
I’m going to end this review with some of the things that were unnecessary and honestly disgusting, and do not get a pass for being written in the 70’s:
- various mentions of black people as second-class, and the use of the word “bl*cks”
- a scene where the lead women admits to having (paraphrase) “one of the common women fantasies” of being raped, and goes on to describe the scene, and this is depicted as romantic
- the character that she says this to, someone she is attempting to cheat on her husband with, asks if she imagines that it is a black man, and she responds by saying no but she she knows that many women do
- the one queer character is depicted as weird and socially inept, is reffered to as a “dyke” multiple times, and there are multiple uses of the word “c*cksucker” as an insult
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
tense
medium-paced
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is awful
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The good news is that Spielberg was in charge of the movie, and Benchley was allowed nowhere near it.
Jaws is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I was excited to read the book. You’re hooked at the very opening scene… and then you’re lost until the last one. And the ending is just… “Oh. Ok. Well, that’s the end I guess.”
This is truly one of the worst books I’ve ever read. It’s the epitome of the “men writing women” jokes. I felt like I needed to finish it to be able to compare and contrast against the film. It’s not even a good beach read.
The characters are bland and unlikable. The dialogue is painful. The plot is not there. After an hour in Amity I was rooting for the shark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Abortion
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No