Review: Jaws by Peter Benchley | Nasty Ellen Overshadows the Shark

Jaws by Peter Benchley
Series: Jaws #1
on January 1, 1974
Genres: Action Adventure, Horror, Thriller
Pages: 368
Format: Hardcover

On the small island of Amity, the calm of summer is shattered when a great white shark begins attacking swimmers. The community is thrown into fear as residents and tourists alike face a terrifying and unpredictable threat.

Police Chief Martin Brody is determined to protect the town, but his efforts are met with resistance from officials more concerned with preserving the lucrative tourist season than ensuring public safety. The tension between caution and commerce adds an additional layer of danger to an already dire situation.

When marine biologist Matt Hooper arrives to study the shark, he joins forces with Brody and the seasoned shark hunter Quint. Together, the three men embark on a tense and dangerous hunt, confronting not only the predator’s immense strength and intelligence but also their own fears, limits, and the high stakes of survival.

Jaws is the novel that inspired the classic 1975 film, offering a gripping exploration of human courage, obsession, and the primal terror of what lurks beneath the surface of the water.

I have to be perfectly honest: I have no idea where to start with this review, so I guess I’ll just begin here:

Dun… dun…  
Dun… dun…  
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun  

Get ready to dive into these shark-infested waters because, honestly, I was rooting for the shark to win in this book.

Let me make myself clear: the characters in this book are absolutely revolting. I’m specifically pointing to Ellen— and I’m not talking about Ellen DeGeneres! Brody’s wife is truly vile, and I’m pretty sure she would belong on Epstein’s list. 

I wish I were exaggerating, but this woman discovered that Hooper—yes, the awkward one from the movie—was the younger brother of her ex-boyfriend. In the book, he has grown into a handsome, wealthy, and charming playboy. However, that barely matters, given that she knew him as a child and is 12 to 15 years older than he is. I’m not against age-gap relationships, but it’s downright unsettling that she knew him when he was just a kid.

The fact that she chose to seduce him after drinking heavily and dousing herself in perfume—yes, even her genitals, as the book explicitly states—is nothing short of inappropriate. She hadn’t slept around before and wanted to become a “woman of the world.” True story. She had outright denied Brody sex because she was bored with him, and he didn’t have the money to throw parties or join the country club, yet she turned around and seduced someone she remembered as a prepubescent child.

Honestly, with the combination of this, the racism, and the homophobia, I actually hoped the shark would eat everyone.

So just remember, friends: #SharksNeedFood #SharkLivesMatter. Save your time with this one. Watch the movie instead, and try not to imagine Ellen sitting around with some baby oil at a Diddy party, looking for her next victim—because she would. Oh yes, she would.

Posted By: msdravenrahl · In: Book Reviews