Jaws

Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable read
Review: This book was a very enjoyable read. It kept you hooked. I was was reading the book and wondering what was going to happen so I just kept on reading. So if you want to read a book that will keep you hooked until the very last sentance,read Jaws.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story, Poor Writing
Review: When you sit down and read Jaws for the first time after you have seen the movie countless times like I have, you will be utterly disappointed. Peter Benchley took a great story and dismantled it with one of the worst turns in literary history. Not only was the Hooper-Ellen Brody affair not needed, it also was horribly written and sunk the rest of the book. Before that twist, Benchley was writing a book that could have been bound for legendary status. Instead, his mental lapse (as well as the publisher's) tarnished the otherwise fine polish on this book. Read until chapter 7, then stop to avoid the affair and a very rushed ending!

Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: This is quite simply the best book you will ever read, of course, thats just my opinion. What other information would you need, its scary, well developed, a great read, awesome plot, great characters, a perfect antagonist, and... IT COULD REALLY HAPPEN! If thats not scary, I don't know what is. "And thats all I have to say about that."

Rating:
Summary: Benchely is a genious. THe harsh critics are blind.
Review: With all this raving maddness about how much jaws the book sucked, I DARE THEM to try and write something better. So the book wasn't completely centered on the shark. SO WHAT! I found the subplots to give the characters a little bit of edge. Near the last third of the book, when everyone falls apart, you can FEEL that tension. And after hooper's untimely death, you really feel the depression hanging in the air, sinking into your mind and heart. It was a really fun book to read. My only quibble was that the characters are so sour toward eachother. They're soooo BITTER. Lighten up Benchely!

Rating:
Summary: What a boring, irritating disappointment!
Review: I've been a great fan of the movie Jaws for years now. I've seen it so many times I've lost count. Even though I know what's going to happen, it never fails to draw me into the excitement and adventure it offers in tremendous supply.

I'd heard that the novel was a lot different, but I wasn't curious enough to read it until I recently found a copy that cost practically nothing at a thrift shop. I'm very happy I didn't pay more for it, because I found it extremely disappointing, and it left me quite irritated!

I couldn't believe how totally unsympathetic and shallow the characters of Ellen Brody and Matt Hooper were. Good grief! Chief Brody came across as rather dim-witted. And Quint? Quite a dull and insubstantial character when compared with the one in the movie -- and, in my opinion, introduced way too late in the book.

I found the Hooper-Ellen Brody affair completely gratuitous. I think it really detracted the novel, as did the antagonism between Chief Brody and Hooper. Thank goodness Speilberg had the good sense to leave that and lots of other ridiculous things (like the Mafia connection) out of the movie, and concentrate on the shark.

Usually, novels are better than the movies based on them. In this case, though, quite the opposite is true. I really believe that if the movie had closely paralleled the book, it would have been a big flop.

While reading, I started to wonder why the title was "Jaws." The shark seemed to be part of a minor sub-plot, overshadowed by Ellen Brody's whining, Matt Hooper's posturing as a leering know-it-all, lust, adultery, stupidity, and everyone wondering who the Mayor's "partners" were. I kept wondering where the shark was!

I usually don't sound off like this, but the exasperation I felt with the book has stayed with me. Shame, shame on Peter Benchley! I sure expected better. Relentless terror? More like relentless boredom! I would have given it zero stars, but Amazon doesn't offer that option.

Here's a suggestion to whoever is considering buying the novel: save your money and watch the movie.

Rating:
Summary: It's not the movie, but still a good book.
Review: However, the book was written as a much more melodramaticpiece, as opposed to an action packed thriller.

The main theme ofthe book is not man against beast, but man against man. This is why I feel that Benchley decided to put the Ellen Brody/Matt Hooper affair in the middle of the story.... to add fuel to the Brody/Hooper conflict that climaxes on the boat (many readers felt that benchley just wanted to add some sex to the story).

The charaters in the book are also much different than the movie. When I first saw the actors who were chosen for the movie, I thought it was woefully miscast. But the actors actually fleshed out characters that were just as good as the books', but much different. The character of Quint in the book was actually based on a Long Island shark fisherman who bore little resembalnce to the Robert Shaw character in the movie.

So.... if you have seen the movie (hasn't everyone at this point?) and want to read the book, judge it on its own merit, and not compared to the movie. I think you'll find it a darn good read.

Rating:
Summary: exciting and thrilling
Review: I really like this book so far. I found it to be the type of book that was not boring. I thought it was interesting and i would recommend it to other readers that enjoy fictional stories.

Rating:
Summary: Speilburg mastered this story, not Benchley
Review: I picked up 'Jaws' in my sophomore year of high school (3 years ago) and expected to be thrilled, possibly more thrilled than when I saw the movie. I had been wanting to read it for a while, and when I saw it in a library, I said, "Why not?" I'll tell you why not: I was looking for a story about a man-eating shark and the people who tried to destroy it. Instead, I got lots of subplots that went nowhere. Nowhere. Ellen Brody was a great disappointment because I loved her movie character. Hooper was an annoying college kid, Brody was obviously mentally blind, and Quint was just some raving shark-hunter. The characters were completely one-dimensional. The whole affair thing bored me, particularly when nothing happened with it! It was like it was just there because Benchley felt like writing something like that, and it had nothing to do with the plot! The shark itself was downplayed the entire time, and I began to wonder if the story was actually about a shark. I'm sorry to say that I didn't like this book very much at all, especially when I loved the movie so much. My English teacher saw me with the book and asked me why I was reading it when an intelligent kid like me should have been reading something like Shakespeare. I truly would like the answer to that question.

Rating:
Summary: A great book. Not for the weak hearted!
Review: Supurb! One of the best books I've ever read! a must for any fan of scary movies or books. Splendid!

Rating:
Summary: jaws was grat and fertning
Review: jaws was grat and fartning keeps u guesin