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afterplague 's review for:
Silent Came the Monster: A Novel of the 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks
by Amy Hill Hearth
informative
fast-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
Silent Came the Monster is such a strange read as a modern reader. The idea that people would be so hesitant to believe that a shark could've possibly attacked someone makes this novel feel ludicrous at times. The entire time people are theorizing that it's a giant sea turtle or a humongous mackerel I couldn't stop thinking "HOW is that more believable than a shark?" Maybe I don't know enough about the marine climate of New Jersey. Maybe this really is incredibly strange, but as an outsider it just felt ridiculous.
Edwin is our main character, a doctor with PTSD from his time in an active combat zone. The novel takes place before America entered the first World War, so there is an underlying tension and distrust, especially towards the Germans. There's even a German U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey, but the American's can't do anything about it without provoking war.
When the first victim dies, Edwin examines the body, determining immediately that this was a shark attack, and advising the authorities to disallow swimmers in the water for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, no one listens to him, and the body count grows.
I can't say that I loved this novel, but I liked it well enough.
I'm going to go more in depth below, so be cautious of spoilers ahead
Edwin is a relatively interesting character. He's trying desperately to be heard on so many fronts. He needs people to believe him about the shark, he's trying to prevent the spread of polio, and he's completely ignored. Usually, the reasoning is money. They can't shut down the beach because it would lower the profits they'd receive from incoming tourists and they can't turn back families with children for the same reason. This is meaningful commentary, though I think it isn't taken far enough. In many ways, this story is about comfort and profit being more important than human life, and there are many directions the author could've taken this theme but didn't
Julia is Edwin's daughter. She's a young woman rebelling against her father, until they open up to each other emotionally. She seems to see him as a person for the first time, and not just her father, which again IS meaningful. So often we don't view our parents as full people, but instead just our parents: an obstacle to what we want and a constant to return to for love. However, our parents ARE people. Again, this COULD have been an interesting theme to explore, but the novel is really shallow with its characters. Any of these themes if explored in depth with the external backdrop of the shark attacks would have been very compelling.
I think the only other characters of true note are Margaret and Stanley, a young engaged couple whose lives are torn apart by the appearance of the shark. ONCE AGAIN, there is something compelling here! Stanley and Margaret have a staunch ideological different. Stanley believes in sacrificing oneself for what is right, and speaks of joining the war effort if the United States joins World War I. Margaret, however, tells Stanley that she doesn't want to lose him. It's almost Honor vs. Family as a theme. This one I do think is explored when Stanley dies trying to save a young boy from the shark. The child dies anyway, and the sacrifice feels pointless, so I'm not sure what that truly says as the ending to the theme.
As far as the writing as atmosphere goes, I think this is nothing to write home about. The descriptions are serviceable, but I never felt immersed in the time. The writing feels a bit basic, but with the graphic contents of the story it could only be an adult book. Everything is quite surface level, but I did enjoy some moments of tension. The setting and time period do feel well-researched and realistic.
The way the plot resolved did catch me off guard. It felt like there wasn't enough build up to the kill of the shark. The scene itself was pretty exciting, but they just killed it by whacking it on the head with an oar a bunch of times... I got a moment of excitement when they weighed it, and the author says it moved! I thought they had claimed victory too soon and there was going to be a final climactic battle, but no. The shark really was dead.
The polio plot also didn't come into the story at all. There were no consequences to it, no characters we knew affected by it. Nothing
Like I said earlier, it was incredibly strange how reluctant people were to believe it was a shark, but this is based on a TRUE story. Genuinely, if an author had made this up I would find it completely unrealistic. People in the story were even claiming that the German U-Boat was actually the one killing these victims. That's insane. I'm pleased to have learned about this weird little history tidbit.
It was an easy read, but nothing amazing. I won't be surprised if I totally forget about this book in a month. Enjoyable enough, but I wouldn't really recommend it.
Edwin is our main character, a doctor with PTSD from his time in an active combat zone. The novel takes place before America entered the first World War, so there is an underlying tension and distrust, especially towards the Germans. There's even a German U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey, but the American's can't do anything about it without provoking war.
When the first victim dies, Edwin examines the body, determining immediately that this was a shark attack, and advising the authorities to disallow swimmers in the water for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, no one listens to him, and the body count grows.
I can't say that I loved this novel, but I liked it well enough.
I'm going to go more in depth below, so be cautious of spoilers ahead
Edwin is a relatively interesting character. He's trying desperately to be heard on so many fronts. He needs people to believe him about the shark, he's trying to prevent the spread of polio, and he's completely ignored. Usually, the reasoning is money. They can't shut down the beach because it would lower the profits they'd receive from incoming tourists and they can't turn back families with children for the same reason. This is meaningful commentary, though I think it isn't taken far enough. In many ways, this story is about comfort and profit being more important than human life, and there are many directions the author could've taken this theme but didn't
Julia is Edwin's daughter. She's a young woman rebelling against her father, until they open up to each other emotionally. She seems to see him as a person for the first time, and not just her father, which again IS meaningful. So often we don't view our parents as full people, but instead just our parents: an obstacle to what we want and a constant to return to for love. However, our parents ARE people. Again, this COULD have been an interesting theme to explore, but the novel is really shallow with its characters. Any of these themes if explored in depth with the external backdrop of the shark attacks would have been very compelling.
I think the only other characters of true note are Margaret and Stanley, a young engaged couple whose lives are torn apart by the appearance of the shark. ONCE AGAIN, there is something compelling here! Stanley and Margaret have a staunch ideological different. Stanley believes in sacrificing oneself for what is right, and speaks of joining the war effort if the United States joins World War I. Margaret, however, tells Stanley that she doesn't want to lose him. It's almost Honor vs. Family as a theme. This one I do think is explored when Stanley dies trying to save a young boy from the shark. The child dies anyway, and the sacrifice feels pointless, so I'm not sure what that truly says as the ending to the theme.
As far as the writing as atmosphere goes, I think this is nothing to write home about. The descriptions are serviceable, but I never felt immersed in the time. The writing feels a bit basic, but with the graphic contents of the story it could only be an adult book. Everything is quite surface level, but I did enjoy some moments of tension. The setting and time period do feel well-researched and realistic.
The way the plot resolved did catch me off guard. It felt like there wasn't enough build up to the kill of the shark. The scene itself was pretty exciting, but they just killed it by whacking it on the head with an oar a bunch of times... I got a moment of excitement when they weighed it, and the author says it moved! I thought they had claimed victory too soon and there was going to be a final climactic battle, but no. The shark really was dead.
The polio plot also didn't come into the story at all. There were no consequences to it, no characters we knew affected by it. Nothing
Like I said earlier, it was incredibly strange how reluctant people were to believe it was a shark, but this is based on a TRUE story. Genuinely, if an author had made this up I would find it completely unrealistic. People in the story were even claiming that the German U-Boat was actually the one killing these victims. That's insane. I'm pleased to have learned about this weird little history tidbit.
It was an easy read, but nothing amazing. I won't be surprised if I totally forget about this book in a month. Enjoyable enough, but I wouldn't really recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content