Jaws

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Summary: An excellent thriller that'll keep you reading
Review: This is one of my favorite books. You always hear about those books that once you pick up and start reading it you can't stop till you're done. I had never encountered such a book until I found Jaws. It was just so well-written you have to read on. The characters and the plot are well-crafted and interesting. The idea of a 25 foot shark in the water just creeps you out

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Summary: Jaws--the book that 'bites' at your imagination.
Review: There isn't anything scarier than what goes on in your mind. The thought of a 25ft shark swimming in the water with you would make anyone head for shore and this book. If you love to be scared and want to be thrown into an ocean of excitement read Jaws

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Summary: The Captivating novel that was the brain behind the movie.
Review: This is a great book which is much better than the movie. There is a lot more descriptions and character development. It is alot longer, too. Read It

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Summary: Great because it was the first, the original
Review: I loved "Jaws" when I first read it, because it broke new literary ground and it terrified me to think what could be deep in the ocean where I swam so often. Subsequent readings have disappointed, somewhat, and I gloss over the tawdry relationship between Hooper and Ellen Brody; which has nothing to do with the story and rather cheapens the book, IMHO. The SHARK is what we want to read about; HIS effect on this tiny community, and his fateful encounters with various unfortunates. The reader who first received "Jaws" as part of his daily assignment was fired on the spot when he dismissed the book with the comment: "Who wants to see a movie about sharks?" He was blackballed, quietly, and is now most likely selling vacuum cleaners door to door. The more astute reader who brought this to the studio's attention deserves rich praise indeed, because this was a blockbuster and continues to be, on screen. Not to denigrate the book too much, the shark encounters are fantastic, and the descriptions of the attacks are fabulous, and you really feel for the poor people trapped in the territory of the unseen monster...From the first chapter and the first attack, you are mesmerized, and on the run with Brody, Hooper and Quint (based on the real life shark hunter, Frank Mundus, who landed the largest Great White ever caught on line; 17 feet in length and almost 4000 pounds!!!!)

The REAL Quint:

"Frank Mundus, born in Brooklyn, NY in 1925, is the most famous shark fisherman of all time. Since taking his boat CRICKET II on it's maiden voyage in 1947, Capt. Mundus has caught some of the largest great white sharks on record. He pioneered the sport of sharkfishing and was the innovator of many of the fishing techniques used today. Although Peter Benchley has never publicly acknowledged him, it is generally known that he was the inspiration for the character "Quint". Much of the action in JAWS is based on Capt. Mundus' real-life experiences.

In 1961 Capt. Mundus caught a 3,000lb great white off the bathing beach of Amagansett (Amity?), NY. The following year he caught a larger great white off Block Island. His greatest claim to fame came in 1964 when, after a 5 hour struggle, he captured a 17 1/2', 4,500lb great white 10 miles off Montauk, Long Island. The shark required 5 harpoons, each attached to a beer barrel by a 400' rope, before it could be towed to shore. Benchley refers to this incident during his interview on the 20th anniversary edition of JAWS, but doesn't mention Capt. Mundus by name. In 1986 Capt. Mundus and Capt. Donnie Braddick caught the largest fish ever taken on rod and reel, a 17', 3,427lb great white. Capt. Braddick was the angler, while Capt. Mundus baited the shark, drove the boat, and supervised the capture of the shark."

The book, being the prelude to a whole new genre of shark books, and caused a simultaneous "shark ephiphany" world-wide, is the forerunner of such books since it's publication, and how glad I am it was published!

Well worth reading, if you haven't (how come you haven't?) yet had the expereince, and you can still enjoy it and be frightened by it even if you've only seen the movie...

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Summary: Movie great, book disappointing by comparison
Review: "Jaws" is one of my favorite movies, and like many people, I like to read the book associated with a movie. Many times I find that the changes made during transitioning from a book to the movie version are unwise, unncessary or just plain stupid (one of the best examples of this that I can think of is "The Talented Mr. Ripley"). "Jaws," on the other hand, is the perfect counter-example. Most of the changes that were made in the movie vs. the book were an improvment, and in many cases, a big improvement. However, I will credit Benchley for this - had their been no book, there would have been no movie. (Also note that, in later years, Benchley distanced himself from the position this book takes on sharks, and he now views them from a more reasoned, conservationist perspective).

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Summary: Jaws Book Review by David Hodder
Review: This is a very skilfully constucted novel .It draws on a classic modern play ,Ibsen's " A Man of the People " for its central moral dilemma ;it adds a love story that would fit nicely into an edition of " Cosmopolitan " and rounds things out nicely with scenes that read like a modernised " Moby Dick " .Add verve in the telling -the result of slick writing and , suspect ,a shrewd editor and the outcome is a machine tooled modern adventure classic .
A Great White shark tales up residence off the shores of Amity ,Long Island and when the remains of its first victim show up the sheriff ,Brodie ,argues for the closure of the beaches on safety grounds .The town leaders disagree ,being mindful of the financial penalties a resort area would incur .The debate between expediency and safety is well handled and has been a staple of horror fiction and movies ever since .This theme is intermingled with the less compelling one of the tale of the eternal triangle that develops between Brodie ,his wife and "Matthew Hooper " the shark expert sent to advise on the problem
The book moves into high gear with the last section when Hooper and Brodie join the shark hunter ,Quint ,as they track the shark ,and this section in particular makes gripping reading .
Benchley is clearly influenced by Moby Dick and has sought to invest the shark with metaphysical meaning as per the Melville novel --the shark is white ;the shark is big;the shark is cunning and malign .It provides the men with that elusive but compelling ritual --the test of manhood .
This is not great literature but it will endure as a good adventure yarn which is readable and gripping .
The movie is better simply because it omits the weakest part of the book --the love affair between Hooper and Helen Brodie -but the book stands up well in its own right

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Summary: Very disappointing......
Review: "Jaws" first came out 30 years ago this June and scared the hell out of me...so much so that I haven't gone swimming in the ocean for 30 years(!!).

The movie "Jaws" became (and still is) my all-time favorite movie and I see it quite often on video. I have the original soundtrack on vinyl and it is my most prized posession due to the fact that I have Steven Spielberg's autograph on it....

After 30 years, I finally got the chance to read the book last week. I knew that some changes were made from the original book and all I can say is THANK GOODNESS. With all due respect to Peter Benchley, if "Jaws" had been made according to the book I have no doubt that it would have been an utter disaster.

It seemed to me that the shark was a very minor part of the book (despite the title) and the bulk of the story centers around the Brodys and their rocky relationship (which ultimately drives Ellen into the arms of Hooper).

Also, the ending was extremely disappointing. I won't spoil it for those who haven't read the book yet but just let me say that it is 1000 times removed from the movie's end (which Peter Benchley didn't like).

To sum up, I'm very glad that I saw the movie first and more than ever I appreciate what Spielberg did with the movie.



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Summary: Man Eater
Review: I'm not alone- Peter Benchley himself once said that if he had known anything about sharks he would never have written this book. Besides cliches like the Mayor not wanting to heed the sole voice of reason's warning, and the mayor really having mob connections, this book can be dismissed merely as MASSMARKETED MISIMFORMATIVE PARANOIA.
The two biggest factual problems (not counting the numerous smaller ones) are:
1. The shark stays offshore of Amity for weeks. Large sharks are NOT territorial- they travel and are unlikely to stay for more than an hour in any spot.
2. The food- There is no way a twenty-five foot great white, which relies on fatty foods, could make a living off of humans alone. It would essentially die of malnutrition.

Also, various series of attacks have happened, but not one (no, not even the 1916 attacks) have been conclusively linked to one shark.

Over all, a very outdated book and highly unlikely book.

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Summary: Jaws
Review: "Jaws" is the story of a shark that is terrorizing a small resort town during it's peak season. Though similer in overall storyline to the movie, "Jaws" the book has different details, so that it differes from the movie pretty radically. I wonder how one of the most populor movies of all time could have been inspired by this book? It really wasn't that good. The first thing I noticed was that Steven Spielberg must have insisted on making major charactor changes. The three main characters in the book are Brody, Hooper, and Brody's wife Ellen, all pretty petty people. First of all, Ellen and Hooper had a lunch where they had a very uncomfortable discussion about sex, and then they had an affair. That didn't generate much sympathy for those two. Wisely in the film the town manager was concerned with the town's financial survival; in the book he was trying to get out from debt with the mob. Salty sailor Quint dosn't show up until the last hundred pages or so; but he is more than welcome. And then there is the weak cheif of police Martin Brody. He was a man who caved to any pressure and was constantly doubting himself. The man is just not quiet what I want in a police officer. The saving grace was the shark scenes, they had bite (pun intended) and were savage and truelly horrifying. I also liked that it was a short, fast read; you could be done with it in a couple of days. But believe me, the movie is so much better.

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Summary: A good--but ultimately forgettable--thriller.
Review: Forgettable? you're thinking. Has this kid lost his MIND?! Yes, I have, but that doesn't matter here. Peter Benchley is a pretty good author, and the subject for this book is spine-tingling and horrific; however, the storyline doesn't echo the subject or the plot. The characters are two-dimensional, there is an affair that is entirely unnecessary (probably added in to make the book longer), and--oh, I hate to say it!--without the movie, this book would've been shoved to the back of dusty library shelves decades ago.

That sounds harsh. Maybe it is. I don't enjoy comparing books to their movie companions, so I won't do a full-fledged comparison here (they're pretty different, actually). If you are still interested in reading the novel, I will offer up a summary of the plot:

Police Chief Brody has discovered a body on the local beach of his town. A body attacked and ravaged by what appears to be a shark of immense proportions. This is only the first body, however; more will appear, as vacationers move in--despite Brody's warnings--and the shark commences to satisfy its ravenous appetite, again and again and again...

The writing is pretty bland (honestly, I think that was done on purpose). The story itself moves along rather briskly, but is full of holes. The shark is entirely menacing, and you do find yourself rooting for the good guys. On that level, "Jaws" succeeds. But on the other hand, you pray the shark will just gobble up all those stupid villagers...oh, well. Maybe in a sequal.