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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
A pretty dull affair. I usually enjoy the book versions of stories rather than the films but not in this case.
disturbingly graphic and not just when the shark is eating people
✧ Review ✧
Title: Jaws
Author: Peter Benchley
Pages: 330
Genre: Horror
I’m writing this first note 40 pages in… at page 17 I had a slight eyebrow raise and cringe at the writing. At page 30 the fact this book was written in the 70s by a white man in his 30s is very obvious. You can interpret that however you like… and now at page 39 my eyes have fully rolled out of my head and had me googling “does menstrual blood attract sharks”.. now enough of past Alex, let’s see what present day, finished the book Alex thinks…
My main takeaway was that this novel has so many pointless scenes and even more pointless descriptions… why do I need to know how Brady carried three glasses?
None of the characters are likeable, the men are misogynistic and the women play into the stereotypes and are annoying. This book could be 200 pages shorter with numerous chapters cut completely.
At first the book is great. The opening chapter is super engaging and then nothing happens, at all, other than side plot stories which add zero to the storyline. Between the first two chapters and the last two chapters there is nothing about the shark?! We just follow the police chiefs bitch wife and the fact she wants to cheat on him to see if she’s still desirable?! Like what?! There is literally a shark eating people and we’re reading about some man’s wife for 100 pages asking if another man is ‘big’…
I straight after rewatched the film for the first time since my childhood to confirm my thoughts… This is one of those rare occasions where the film is better than the book. Spielberg may be a genius that he had this book and made Jaws the iconic film it is today. I wouldn’t bother wasting your time reading this.
I’ve never been more disappointed by a book when comparing it to a film.
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Title: Jaws
Author: Peter Benchley
Pages: 330
Genre: Horror
I’m writing this first note 40 pages in… at page 17 I had a slight eyebrow raise and cringe at the writing. At page 30 the fact this book was written in the 70s by a white man in his 30s is very obvious. You can interpret that however you like… and now at page 39 my eyes have fully rolled out of my head and had me googling “does menstrual blood attract sharks”.. now enough of past Alex, let’s see what present day, finished the book Alex thinks…
My main takeaway was that this novel has so many pointless scenes and even more pointless descriptions… why do I need to know how Brady carried three glasses?
None of the characters are likeable, the men are misogynistic and the women play into the stereotypes and are annoying. This book could be 200 pages shorter with numerous chapters cut completely.
At first the book is great. The opening chapter is super engaging and then nothing happens, at all, other than side plot stories which add zero to the storyline. Between the first two chapters and the last two chapters there is nothing about the shark?! We just follow the police chiefs bitch wife and the fact she wants to cheat on him to see if she’s still desirable?! Like what?! There is literally a shark eating people and we’re reading about some man’s wife for 100 pages asking if another man is ‘big’…
I straight after rewatched the film for the first time since my childhood to confirm my thoughts… This is one of those rare occasions where the film is better than the book. Spielberg may be a genius that he had this book and made Jaws the iconic film it is today. I wouldn’t bother wasting your time reading this.
I’ve never been more disappointed by a book when comparing it to a film.
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
“Jaws” was the very first movie my parents ever took me to—at the drive-in when I was three months old in the summer of 1975. My mom still talks about how she buried her face in my shoulder during the scary parts. The movie was such a phenomenon; I remember that my teenaged uncle had the movie poster on his wall in the late Seventies and how it and the do-doot theme was terrifying. It took a long time before I stopped being scared and understood what a great movie it was.
Jaws, the book, is not great. It tries for some class commentary but basically makes everyone, rich or poor, a snob. It has, unsurprisingly, dated sexual politics and an odd can-you-tell-The-Godfather-is-a-hit-right-now mob presence. The characters are mostly jerks. As others have said, I was rooting for the shark. Still, it was fun to read something so much of its time. It was quick and painless, and told the story start-to-finish rather than with the unnecessary complication of time jumps that so many writers have abused in the last 10 years. Two indulgent-summer-read stars.
Jaws, the book, is not great. It tries for some class commentary but basically makes everyone, rich or poor, a snob. It has, unsurprisingly, dated sexual politics and an odd can-you-tell-The-Godfather-is-a-hit-right-now mob presence. The characters are mostly jerks. As others have said, I was rooting for the shark. Still, it was fun to read something so much of its time. It was quick and painless, and told the story start-to-finish rather than with the unnecessary complication of time jumps that so many writers have abused in the last 10 years. Two indulgent-summer-read stars.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
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:
Complicated
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: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence
Moderate: Grief