This book was a nightmare. An utter disaster.
I went into it expecting it to be far better than the movies, because that is typically the case. It was not.
At least the movie got it mostly right. It was about the shark and it's unexplainable appearance and extended stay in the waters of the small island town. What the movie got wrong was the the shark was not a monster, but a victim. I always cheered for the shark. What the book got right was... Quint dying--which is not a spoiler because it happens in the movie and if you haven't seen the movie at least once, I just don't know what you've been doing with your life.
So it started off really great, the initial shark attack, they immediately knew it was a shark attack, and the Chief of police was strong-armed into covering the whole thing up in order to save the summer tourism for the island. And to some degree, it's almost understandable. They need the summer tourism boom to live through the winter, and the statistics suggested that there wouldn't be another attack. Even if the Chief had a bad feeling about it. And of course the Chief was right to want close the beaches, because two more people get attacked--in the same day. They can't hide it any more. News outlets have gotten hold of the story and it's beginning to look bad for Amity.
Then a good third of the books goes on to focus on Chief Brody and is wife and their marital problems. Ellen who is portrayed as loving and strong in the films is a selfish, weak [insert bad word] in the novel. Long story short, she regrets giving up her life of means to marry Martin and she makes him suffer for it. She has an affair with Hooper and the whole thing just makes me hate her character completely.
They uncover information that the mayor is in deep with the mafia which is why he's been pushing Chief Brody to reopen the beaches in time for Independence Day. Which, actually kinda makes more sense than the entire town council being a bunch of heartless jerks who didn't care if tourists died in a shark attack as long as they made good money that summer.
This book was definitely a product of the time it was written in. It screamed 1970s from the terminology used to the behaviors displayed. But Quint was by and far the worst. He was a horrible person in both book and film. His methods were despicable and his lack of empathy for animal life... Needless to say he deserved to die even if he didn't get the death he deserved. The shark took him with him, but I feel he should have been the shark's last meal.
I was really cheering for the shark to live and everyone else to die. But no such luck. The best parts of the book were Quint kicking the bucket and Hooper waxing poetic about the possibility of megalodon being alive somewhere in the depths of the ocean and how beautiful she would be.
This was just a disappointment to me.
I went into it expecting it to be far better than the movies, because that is typically the case. It was not.
At least the movie got it mostly right. It was about the shark and it's unexplainable appearance and extended stay in the waters of the small island town. What the movie got wrong was the the shark was not a monster, but a victim. I always cheered for the shark. What the book got right was... Quint dying--which is not a spoiler because it happens in the movie and if you haven't seen the movie at least once, I just don't know what you've been doing with your life.
So it started off really great, the initial shark attack, they immediately knew it was a shark attack, and the Chief of police was strong-armed into covering the whole thing up in order to save the summer tourism for the island. And to some degree, it's almost understandable. They need the summer tourism boom to live through the winter, and the statistics suggested that there wouldn't be another attack. Even if the Chief had a bad feeling about it. And of course the Chief was right to want close the beaches, because two more people get attacked--in the same day. They can't hide it any more. News outlets have gotten hold of the story and it's beginning to look bad for Amity.
Then a good third of the books goes on to focus on Chief Brody and is wife and their marital problems. Ellen who is portrayed as loving and strong in the films is a selfish, weak [insert bad word] in the novel. Long story short, she regrets giving up her life of means to marry Martin and she makes him suffer for it. She has an affair with Hooper and the whole thing just makes me hate her character completely.
They uncover information that the mayor is in deep with the mafia which is why he's been pushing Chief Brody to reopen the beaches in time for Independence Day. Which, actually kinda makes more sense than the entire town council being a bunch of heartless jerks who didn't care if tourists died in a shark attack as long as they made good money that summer.
This book was definitely a product of the time it was written in. It screamed 1970s from the terminology used to the behaviors displayed. But Quint was by and far the worst. He was a horrible person in both book and film. His methods were despicable and his lack of empathy for animal life... Needless to say he deserved to die even if he didn't get the death he deserved. The shark took him with him, but I feel he should have been the shark's last meal.
I was really cheering for the shark to live and everyone else to die. But no such luck. The best parts of the book were Quint kicking the bucket and Hooper waxing poetic about the possibility of megalodon being alive somewhere in the depths of the ocean and how beautiful she would be.
This was just a disappointment to me.
