A fun scary book. ( )

My brother told me he read this book in high school (30 years ago) so I decided to pick it up, especially since I L-O-V-E the movie!! This is one of the few books where I liked the movie better than the book. Chief Brody's mind is just dirty, dirty, dirty. He treats his wife like crap so she has an affair with Hooper!! UGH. ( )

Book 187 - Peter Benchley - Jaws

You know the 1975 movie…directed by Steven Spielberg…starring John Schneider…Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw based on the book that had only come out the previous year. Devastatingly brilliant…terrifying…until you see the shark and the ultimate ‘buddy’ movie. The book is similar in many ways but also…oh so different.

I love the movie…the fact that it splits so well into two parts…how Amity is affected…leading to the isolation and brilliance of the closing acts…all whilst that music permeates the whole movie. It is almost perfect.

But…and it is a huge but…much like the the novel ‘The Firm’…this is one of those times that the movie is so much better. I was stunned that a subplot…thankfully completely ignored by Spielberg…has Chief Brody’s wife, superbly portrayed in the movie by Lorraine Gray, having a fling with Hooper…in the book, the character that comes across as a young lothario who chases…catches and has a sexual exploration that is so out of place I had the feeling…Benchley needed to pad out the plot.

This middle third and Chief Brody’s suspicions means the coming together of the three characters, Brody, Hooper and Quint, as they chase down the killer Great White, is done in the midst of antagonism and recriminations.

A shocking ending means there isn’t the ‘punch-the-air’ moment that the movie gives us…and indeed a further subplot implying a mafia type group have forced the beaches to stay open means the book is a bit of a mess…with few likeable characters…

The fact the movie is so good is all the more shocking since Benchley wrote the screenplay…astonishing.

Very disappointing…my advice? Stick to the movie and a huge thank you Mr Spielberg. ( )

Book source ~ Purchased at Chirp

Everyone in this book is an asshole. The End.

Just kidding. Although, not really. Chief Brody isn’t quite as bad as everyone else, but he’s still an uptight jerk most of the time. I like the movie people a bit better, especially Roy Scheider’s portrayal of the Chief. Robert Shaw got Quint’s character exactly right. Kudos!

There’s a whole backstory about why the Mayor is an ass about closing the beaches and it’s not solely because the island depends on the Summer visitors to spend money so the islanders can live through the winter without having to go on welfare. There’s more to why the newspaper editor kept the first death quiet. But then again, most books are more in-depth than a movie could possibly get. Having said that, I much prefer the movie over the book. Jaws is such a Horror Classic and Steven Spielberg masterfully put together a movie that pays homage to the book without getting bogged down in everyday life on the island, including the whiny cheating ass, Ellen Brody. I’ve watched it many times and I put it on again after I finished the audiobook. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should. If you’re not a fan of gore (it’s not as bad as you might think) then pick up the book. ( )

I have read this book many times! The paperback copy completely fell apart. I most recently listened to it on audio. A great read! ( )