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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A real rare case of the movie being better than the book. I did enjoy this book, with its opening particularly grabbing me. The book just took us in a few odd directions, and the shark became quite frustratingly absent from the story.
The movie has a clear focus and a much better structure.
The movie has a clear focus and a much better structure.
I came in expecting sharks, but all I got was this lousy story of people wanting a beach opened (even thought people got eviscerated) and smut about the sheriff's wife wanting to cheat. The story is similar to the movie, but I feel the movie does a better job at presenting a thrilling story that engrosses the viewer in wanting to know what’s going to happen. The sub plots are unnecessary and it just feels flat at points. Overall, it’s an interesting read seeing how it plays out, but doesn’t make you want to come back.
Why, you might ask, in 2024, did I decide to read this book?
Well, the movie is one of my all-time favorites. I've probably seen it 30+ times (and I'm not a big movie person.) I guess, having spent all my childhood summers in Montauk, it hits a nostalgic, as well as scary, note. I also saw it in the theater in 1975, when it first came out. (Don't tell my mom - she thinks I was seeing 101 Dalmations!) There was recently a story about its 50th anniversary in the New York Times, which prompted me to read it.
I'll begin by saying that the movie was WAY better than the book. The characters were so much more developed. Was that the screenplay or the great acting? I can't say, but they were all much more nuanced and multi-dimensional than in the book. (I see a prior reviewer has the exact opposite opinion of mine, so there you go.) Matt Hooper in the book, was nothing like the funny, sardonic, irreverent Hooper portrayed by Richard Dreyfus. In fact, he was kind of a dick. Brody and Quint were better, but still nowhere as compelling characters as in the movie. Especially Quint.
There were also a few side-plots in the book - an extramarital affair, and some mob involvement, which seemed random and didn't add anything to the story (probably why they were left out of the movie.)
Hopefully, this isn't too much of a spoiler, but the end was a massive let-down, compared to the spectacular end of the movie. I realize the movie had a very Hollywood ending, but the ending of the book had me thinking, "Huh? That's it?"
Nevertheless, it held my attention. I got it to for an airplane read, and read it the whole way, both ways. Maybe if I didn't love the movie so much, I would have loved the book more.
Well, the movie is one of my all-time favorites. I've probably seen it 30+ times (and I'm not a big movie person.) I guess, having spent all my childhood summers in Montauk, it hits a nostalgic, as well as scary, note. I also saw it in the theater in 1975, when it first came out. (Don't tell my mom - she thinks I was seeing 101 Dalmations!) There was recently a story about its 50th anniversary in the New York Times, which prompted me to read it.
I'll begin by saying that the movie was WAY better than the book. The characters were so much more developed. Was that the screenplay or the great acting? I can't say, but they were all much more nuanced and multi-dimensional than in the book. (I see a prior reviewer has the exact opposite opinion of mine, so there you go.) Matt Hooper in the book, was nothing like the funny, sardonic, irreverent Hooper portrayed by Richard Dreyfus. In fact, he was kind of a dick. Brody and Quint were better, but still nowhere as compelling characters as in the movie. Especially Quint.
There were also a few side-plots in the book - an extramarital affair, and some mob involvement, which seemed random and didn't add anything to the story (probably why they were left out of the movie.)
Hopefully, this isn't too much of a spoiler, but the end was a massive let-down, compared to the spectacular end of the movie. I realize the movie had a very Hollywood ending, but the ending of the book had me thinking, "Huh? That's it?"
Nevertheless, it held my attention. I got it to for an airplane read, and read it the whole way, both ways. Maybe if I didn't love the movie so much, I would have loved the book more.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Shame to say it did not hold up to the famous movie version, which I also haven't seen since I was a kid. This book was filled subversive and overt racism, misogyny, and homophobia. Nor was it a horror/thriller. It was about boring local politics.
Wasn’t expecting a shark tale erotica. Shark chapters were cool but chapters about a cheating wife and their cringe fantasy talk was wierd
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Es el libro mas “meh” que he leído en ma vida… tipo te da re expectativas de “terror y suspenso” y es básicamente un drama matrimonial bien sin sentido.