Audiobook Review: Jaws by Peter Benchley
Jaws by Peter Benchley
Narrator: Erik Steele
Publication Date: February 1974
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
A great white shark terrorizes the beautiful summer getaway of Amity Island, and a motley group of men take to the water to do battle with the beast. A heart-pounding novel of suspense and a brilliant meditation on the nature of humanity, Jaws is one of the most iconic thrillers ever written.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jaws. Almost everyone has seen or at least heard of the movie but most of the people I told that I was reading Jaws didn’t know that the movie is an adaptation of the novel.
2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jaws. Almost everyone has seen or at least heard of the movie but most of the people I told that I was reading Jaws didn’t know that the movie is an adaptation of the novel.
After reading the book, I watched the movie for the first time. I was surprised at how different the movie is from the book. The premise is the same – a great white shark terrorizes Amity’s beach and kills people. The police chief wants to close the beach, but the town leadership is afraid that will affect Amity’s economy, which is almost entirely based on the summer vacationers, and a group of men go out to sea to try and kill it. Almost none of the details are the same within this premise.
The movie is considered to be the first blockbuster action film and is entirely plot driven. Most characters in the book are developed and have back stories. The police chief’s wife has a detailed subplot in the book and is just a stock concerned wife and mother in the movie. Also, in the book the town leaders had a more complicated motive for wanting the beaches to stay open,
I liked both the book and the movie – but of course thought the book was better! I would consider the movie to be more “inspired by” the book rather than based on it. Keep that in mind before you read the book, and you’ll like it. Recommended.
