Scan barcode
thebearnest's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content
draven_deathcrush's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Death
Moderate: Racism and Misogyny
hjb_128's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Alcohol, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Rape, and Animal death
novellearts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
TW: Rape
I was struggling with what to rate this.. I think I would’ve given it a 4/5 if not for the horrid dialogue between two specific characters in the book.
Exhibit A:
“‘That’s supposed to be every schoolgirl’s fantasy,’ she ventured playfully. ‘What is?’ ‘To be a … you know, a prostitute. To sleep with a whole lot of different men.’”
Exhibit B:
“‘To fantasies,’ he said. ‘Tell me about yours.’ His eyes were a bright, liquid blue, and his lips were parted in a half smile. Ellen laughed. ‘Oh, mine aren’t very interesting. I imagine they’re just your old run-of-the-mill fantasies.’ ‘There’s no such thing,’ said Hooper. ‘Tell me.’ He was asking, not demanding, but Ellen felt that the game she had started demanded that she answer. ‘Oh, you know,’ she said. Her stomach felt warm, and the back of her neck was hot. ‘Just the standard things. Rape, I guess, is one.’”
Exhibit B then evolves into Ellen describing examples of the above. Being a book about sharks, I never expected dialogue between the characters to be anything close to this. Especially after seeing the movie first.
Also, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a “yawning” vagina before now.
I was struggling with what to rate this.. I think I would’ve given it a 4/5 if not for the horrid dialogue between two specific characters in the book.
Exhibit A:
“‘That’s supposed to be every schoolgirl’s fantasy,’ she ventured playfully. ‘What is?’ ‘To be a … you know, a prostitute. To sleep with a whole lot of different men.’”
Exhibit B:
“‘To fantasies,’ he said. ‘Tell me about yours.’ His eyes were a bright, liquid blue, and his lips were parted in a half smile. Ellen laughed. ‘Oh, mine aren’t very interesting. I imagine they’re just your old run-of-the-mill fantasies.’ ‘There’s no such thing,’ said Hooper. ‘Tell me.’ He was asking, not demanding, but Ellen felt that the game she had started demanded that she answer. ‘Oh, you know,’ she said. Her stomach felt warm, and the back of her neck was hot. ‘Just the standard things. Rape, I guess, is one.’”
Exhibit B then evolves into Ellen describing examples of the above. Being a book about sharks, I never expected dialogue between the characters to be anything close to this. Especially after seeing the movie first.
Also, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a “yawning” vagina before now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Death, and Child death
trippyotter's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Next month, February, celebrates the 50th ANNIVERSARY of the book release! *mind blowing*
I'd been wanting to read the book for some time, and I was trying to hold out until the anniversary month, but I had just finished a book and... Let's just say, OMG! It's soooo much better than the movie! And I'm soooo disappointed by what was not incorporated into the movie, too!
But if they ever remake JAWS, which they should never, never, never do... They seriously need to include some of the left-out plot details!
I will say, that I read White Shark last year and thought, "ok, this is good, but it's not amazing..." and was questioning if I should read JAWS. Well, if you've read any of Benchley's other books and you're not sure about JAWS, you should definitely read it!
I'd been wanting to read the book for some time, and I was trying to hold out until the anniversary month, but I had just finished a book and... Let's just say, OMG! It's soooo much better than the movie! And I'm soooo disappointed by what was not incorporated into the movie, too!
But if they ever remake JAWS, which they should never, never, never do... They seriously need to include some of the left-out plot details!
I will say, that I read White Shark last year and thought, "ok, this is good, but it's not amazing..." and was questioning if I should read JAWS. Well, if you've read any of Benchley's other books and you're not sure about JAWS, you should definitely read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, and Gore
eyebrightt_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tba
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Child death
Minor: Rape
repeated instances of both human & animal death. a character describes a rape fantasy in chapter 8.celisabeth's review against another edition
tense
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? It's complicated
2.75
This book held some really problematic pieces for me - such as racism, uncomfortable infidelity, sexism in the fact that Ellen (Brody's wife) serves almost no purpose in the story whatsoever except as a product of anger and other issues, and that's not to mention the apparent rape fantasy "all women have."
We can also talk about the endless fact that this novel sparked so many fears of sharks, who mostly don't attack people (seriously, it's supposedly more likely to get struck by lightning than to get attacked by a shark) and aren't truly attracted to women's menstrual cycles. (I will note Benchley wrote an introduction to the edition I read retracting a lot of those issues and problems faced in the book.)
But even through the problems, the book was an easy read with strong writing and an engaging storyline. The characters could have been developed more and I wished for more tense reactions when the shark did appear. Nonetheless, this book is finely written, but I would say (in this case), you could really just watch the movie and forego the book.
We can also talk about the endless fact that this novel sparked so many fears of sharks, who mostly don't attack people (seriously, it's supposedly more likely to get struck by lightning than to get attacked by a shark) and aren't truly attracted to women's menstrual cycles. (I will note Benchley wrote an introduction to the edition I read retracting a lot of those issues and problems faced in the book.)
But even through the problems, the book was an easy read with strong writing and an engaging storyline. The characters could have been developed more and I wished for more tense reactions when the shark did appear. Nonetheless, this book is finely written, but I would say (in this case), you could really just watch the movie and forego the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Child death, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Grief
aristata9000's review against another edition
medium-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
1.0
I hesitate to call this book a thriller. I was disappointed by the characters and plot line. The focus for the first part of the book seemed to be on Brody’s wife’s unhappiness with her life rather than the shark that was killing people in town. The ending was disappointing to say the least and had no punch. Even the hunt and subsequent fight with the shark did not have high enough stakes, which could have been fixed with better writing. Just watch the movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Child death, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Rape
puffball's review against another edition
I’m a huge fan of classic sci-fi, so I’m fairly used to sexism of misogyny and can typically move past it. But this author has a police detective complaining about how small a dead woman’s breasts were. He finds a person who’s been maimed and killed by a shark, and his literal first thought is how small and flat her breasts are. Absolutely not. Immediate dnf. Oh, and the detective had been reading a book that had gratuitous mentions of rape for literally no reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Rape, and Misogyny
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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
3.0
The Details:
Narrated by Erik Steele
Unabridged
I feel bad but upon finishing, I literally shouted "was that it?". There wasn't much of anything going on and I feel like the opportunity to explore the science of the shark and why it was in these waters, just ended before it could begin.
It was okay, nothing inherently awful, just not sure why it's hyped as much as it is.
Narrated by Erik Steele
Unabridged
I feel bad but upon finishing, I literally shouted "was that it?". There wasn't much of anything going on and I feel like the opportunity to explore the science of the shark and why it was in these waters, just ended before it could begin.
It was okay, nothing inherently awful, just not sure why it's hyped as much as it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death