Review
WL Rating
In February of 1974, Peter Benchley’s novel Jaws took the book world by storm, instantly becoming a 40-week national bestseller. Today, I don’t know any surfer or serious water enthusiast who doesn’t know about the book, or who hasn’t at least seen the movie directed by Steven Spielberg. Oddly enough, however, I don’t know a single person below the age of 60 who has actually read the book. So, given that the film is a much quoted, top-five all-time movie for me, I finally picked up the book and started to read. The book starts off as compelling as the movie, with the shark skulking into a vicious attack on a drunken, nude female swimmer. From there, the book takes dramatically different turns away from the plot and action in the final movie. While the characters are all the same, their personalities and actions are almost completely different. As you’d expect, the novel can drill into the character profiles and motivations in a way that a two-hour movie can’t. While I won’t get into the details, suffice to say that marine biologist Hooper is not the small, whiney character played so adroitly by Richard Dreyfus. And Brody’s wife Ellen? Well, let’s just say that the woman’s got some serious midlife issues. Is the book as good as the movie? In my opinion, no. But it is good, and it’s a lightning quick read. You can easily find a copy for 90¢ on Amazon, so a lack of cash is no excuse for not reading Jaws. Ultimately, this book ruined a nation’s summer, and then the movie ruined the next one. So, for thinning the coast’s line-ups for two years, and providing the world with one of the creepiest, well-known movie mnemonics, Jaws is a WL Essential. (November 2009)
Jaws - Peter Benchley
