Jaws

Jaws by Peter Benchley is not the creature feature I expected. In fact, the shark plays a surprisingly small role in the novel and could almost be replaced by any natural disaster, crisis, or threat facing the town. The real focus of the book is Martin Brody. Everything in the story, from the town politics to the relationships to the shark itself, is filtered through how it affects Brody and his life.

As a first novel, Jaws is an interesting read because you can almost watch Benchley grow as a writer over the course of the book. The writing becomes stronger as it goes along, and there is a noticeable difference between the early and later sections. Part One and Part Two often feel like entirely different novels. The first half is largely show more concerned with establishing the town, its social structure, and Brody's personal life, while the shark frequently fades into the background.

Readers should also remember that this novel was published in 1974. Many of the attitudes, expectations, and character dynamics reflect that era and may feel dated or unusual to a modern audience. Some character motivations, particularly regarding relationships and gender roles, felt more rooted in the early 1970s than timeless human behavior.

What ultimately kept this from being a higher-rated book for me was its structure. Benchley introduces a number of interesting ideas and plot threads, including town politics, economic pressures, corruption, marriage, class differences, and the shark itself, but many of them are left unresolved or only partially explored. By the end, I found myself asking "That's it?" rather than feeling that the story had reached a satisfying conclusion. The ending feels abrupt, and for a novel so focused on Brody's character, I was surprised by how little emotional or thematic resolution he receives.

There is certainly value here, particularly as a snapshot of a first-time novelist finding his voice and as a fascinating companion piece to the much more famous film adaptation. Just don't go into it expecting the novel version of the movie. This is far more of a character study and small-town drama than a traditional shark thriller.

**Rating: 3.5/5** show less

About a year ago, I watched the Steven Spielberg movie Jaws for the first time in over a decade. Expecting mostly a nostalgia rush or some cud to chew on, I found myself thinking, with some surprise, "this is actually a damn good movie". A rather obvious thing to think, you might say, but it's easy to take Jaws, and other childhood staples like it, for granted. Particularly as, in our contemporary CGI-superhero-reboot-dumb-it-down-and-sell-it-to-China era, structure and storytelling don't seem to be much of a priority among Hollywood filmmakers. I had a similar response to Peter Benchley's Jaws, the source novel for Spielberg's film (Benchley was also a co-writer for the script). I didn't expect much, but I wasn't that far into it show more before I found myself thinking, with some surprise, "this is actually a damn good story".

It is, I admit, deservedly overshadowed by its film adaptation, which is superior in just about every way. Even leaving aside those things Benchley cannot compete with (such as John Williams' iconic score), the film scores higher. Spielberg said he didn't like any of the book's characters – Brody, Hooper or Quint – and so fleshed them out for the film. He also kept the shark hidden from the audience, building suspense (famously, this was done out of necessity, because the mechanical shark prop kept breaking during filming). None of the film's iconic lines (such as the "bigger boat" one) come from Benchley's novel – though the equally iconic book cover/movie poster does.

The film also omits some of the novel's pointless subplots, such as the mayor's dealings with the mafia and Hooper's affair with Brody's wife. The latter is a particularly unwelcome presence in the novel, not only because Ellen Brody's long inner monologue keeps us from the shark action, but because Hooper's side-smirk cuckolding of Brody sours any later shark-hunting camaraderie they might have had. That camaraderie is particularly well done in the film, in no small part due to Spielberg's altering of the characters, but also because of incredible scenes like the Indianapolis monologue – a conspicuous absence here. In the novel, Brody, Hooper and Quint are too much at each other's throats.

Jaws the novel is by no means a masterpiece, but it is tight. The writing isn't literary, but it's clean and easy to read. The characters aren't astonishing, but they keep us engaged. The plot is direct and thrilling – and well-paced. The novel commits more to the effect the shark attacks have on the Amity townspeople, which is welcome from a literary perspective, and if the novel's cod-Moby Dick ending is inferior to the film version, it still comes across well in print. Benchley allows his talent to come through in bursts; the opening scene in particular is great writing. At no point was I wanting to read anything else, or even do anything else.

Jaws looks and sounds like a crummy potboiler, but – and you might laugh – this was one of the most intelligent novels I've read in a good while. It doesn't have any literary pretensions, and though it has literary potential, Benchley doesn't sound those depths. By intelligent, I mean: situation, character, pace and prose. The story follows three varied characters in a thrilling situation and tells it with good pace and a clean, easy writing style. That's intelligent, to me – particularly as most 'crowd-pleasers' and 'thrillers' tend to be obsessively curated and manipulated, choking out any originality. Jaws is different: Benchley didn't expect it to be much of a success, so he just wrote a good story and it was a hit – a natural hit. I've realised that Jaws would have been a great read, even memorable, had the film never existed – as hard as it is to imagine a world without the world's first summer blockbuster and enduring pop-culture phenomenon. It's just one of those stories that hits a sweet spot, and it's hard to imagine what dull, unpromising roads we would have taken had Benchley not written it. show less

I enjoyed this no end. Compared to the film, I liked the more explicit examination of the impact of tourism on the people of Amity, as well as the deeper focus on the characters and their motivations. I love the film, but the novel feels more of a human exploration of corruption, jealousy, insecurity, and the quiet tensions that exist within the goldfish bowl of small-town America.

This is tough. Jaws is a 4-star book. Hands down. The writing, the dialogue, the story are all really well done and I thoroughly enjoyed Parts 1 and 3.
But... Part 2 was practically another book entirely. Like a mildly smutty affair romance bookended by shark attacks. I was sooooo confused! Flirtation turns into a secret rendezvous that involves discussing sexual fantasies (and they are NOT good). And then acting on them. It's like Benchley's editor said he needed to appeal to the female reader pool as well, and this was his response. It did not fit the rest of the story at all. So if/when I reread this, I'll skip Part 2 altogether.
What's worse is all I kept thinking is: Steven Spielberg read this.

Review Originally Posted At: FictionForesight

The coastal town of Amity relies on the business of vacation goers to survive. When shark attacks start to increase at a rapid rate, the social order of the town begins to break down. Chief Brody tries to protect his citizens from both the shark and a mayor with shadowy ties to the community.

The beaches stay open, but with something lurking beneath.

I like to kick off the change of seasons with books related to them. Jaws, that immortalized story of a giant shark terrorizing Amity, and the fight between safety and profit that scared millions and made children and adults not enter the water. That was the movie, of course. I didn’t know that there was even a Jaws book until a small time before show more I bought it. While the film decided to glean over a lot of the lesser plot devices, the book definitely tells a better, more complete story.

I was hooked instantly with how Benchley describes the shark’s thoughts, and his attempts to get “into the mind” of it. The scene where the swimmer is attacked actually had me grabbing at my own leg to make sure that it was still there. Every time I opened the book I hoped for another shark scene.

The main difference that I noticed in the book was that there is a lot more focus on the social interactions between the townspeople compared to the movie. The book is much more of a social commentary on how people react in emergency situations, rather than a simple story about a shark attacking people. The problem that I noticed was in the pacing. I spent about 5 pages reading about Brody trying to close the beaches, and that wasn’t even people arguing, but just trying to go through the process of closing the beaches. It can make for dull moments of reading. Enter the mayor, with ties to some mob activity and a need to serve a small town; one that hinges on a good vacation season. He is a force which Brody has to contend with in order to save the citizens and visitors of Amity; and of course the Amity leadership wants to hide the shark attacks for a better tourist season.

Where I am completely lost, and why I gave two stars for this book, is the affair. Mrs. Brody is a very big presence in the book, with a failing relationship stressed by this string of shark attacks and social class stigma. She married under her class by marrying Brody, and she regrets it, so the obvious thing to do is have an affair. My sarcasm is mainly because the affair adds next to nothing for the plot. It would be fine if it were left out. It draws the finale out in order for Mrs. Brody to feel horrible, and to tell us about her woes of not being a languid beach-goer in the summer anymore.

I do like the overall theme that the shark is sent from some divine being to punish Amity. Those who were “sinners” end up dead in the end, usually from the shark, and only the innocent survive. So it is another layer that adds a little more intrigue to the story of a killer shark.

I think it is definitely worth a read if you are looking for something a little more thrilling for your summer reading. Although I wouldn’t recommend reading it ocean-side… it might not be safe in that water.

(www.FictionForesight.com) show less

I read this for a local horror book club. Parts of it were good, other parts aged like milk. While the book tried to say things about class and masculinity, I feel like the movie is a superior telling of this story. The book loses track of it's focus with the added side plots of Ellen's affair and the mafia. The mafia bit could have worked if there was a resolution, or even just more of a threat, so that Brody could really feel pressured from all sides. The affair and the dialogue during the lunch scene with Ellen and Hooper put me firmly on Team Shark. That whole scene was just pure 1970s male pulp fantasy. So gross. But overall, I think the book suffered from poor pacing and flawed characters who weren't pushed enough. Even some of show more the scenes with the shark weren't scary, but more dry and detached. More tension could have been written in. I'm glad I read it, but this is one of those rare cases where the movie is better. show less

What if Jaws was more about Brody's wife's infidelity than shark attacks? What if Brody was a borderline insane person with a hair trigger? What if everyone were incredibly unlikable?
Quint: "What a pair of assholes."