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_whatkatiereads's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Really mixed feelings on this one. Put me into a slump and had no real drive to pick it up, as it’s super outdated with some awful misogyny and a slur on page 12. When it was about the shark the tension was great and it was compelling, but any and all people related plot lines were not the one. One of the few times I think I’ll ever say the film is better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny and Rape
jackthelad93's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Rape
amie713's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, and Rape
jessplayin's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
0.5
Truly hated this. What a great film made from such a waste of time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
kskinny's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Every main character SUCKS. And that’s the point.
Also this is such a white man book, it’s insane so be ready for the misogyny, rape fantasies, racism, and overall “guys being dudes”. Thanks, 70s.
Also this is such a white man book, it’s insane so be ready for the misogyny, rape fantasies, racism, and overall “guys being dudes”. Thanks, 70s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
_disgruntledpelican's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
truly one of the worst books I’ve ever read. thank god the “romance” and insane level of racism aren’t in the movie because 80% of this book is filled with jaw dropping sentences (can’t even appreciate the pun) that make me question how this passed by editors and became a bestseller. there is a part on the dust jacket that reads, “The marine biologist, Matt Hooper, for example, shows a predatory side that threatens to destroy the marriage of police chief Martin Brody.” The predatory side is discussing and playing out a r*pe fantasy because, apparently, THATS WHAT SOME WOMEN WANT??????????? AND THEN there are all of these out of pocket racist comments about Black people that add absolutely nothing to the story and are so jarring in contrast to the movie. and it’s mostly done by criminalizing and villainizing Black men. I wish I never read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Rape
hannuhreads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2 stars.
🦈 The vibes:
- A classic
- Thriller / horror
- Unlikable characters
- Relationship drama
🦈 My thoughts:
Where do I even begin? Storygraph told me I wouldn’t like this one and once again Storygraph was correct. 2 stars feels generous- but I will say it’s not that this book is written poorly. It’s just that I disliked almost everything in this book.
If this book was written to show how terrible humans are- then it did that. But otherwise- I don’t think this book gave me anything good. I’ve seen online a lot of attempts at explaining the moral of the book; some say it’s about fear, others say it’s about nature, and more say it’s about predators (ie human). For me- the best I can take away from this novel is that it shows just how flawed humans are and how deep greed runs in our blood. Almost every character exhibited deep selfishness and greed. But enough with the philosophical chat. Now onto my unfiltered thoughts.
Theres a shark, sure. But mostly there’s a lot of bad behavior here. The shark is almost the hero compared to the rest of the characters. Sigh.
Ok. So let’s just jump into the various categories (and how they didn’t work for me):
This book is pretty gory and gross. There’s tore up bodies from the shark- limbs, blood, and guts. It’s just nasty. I don’t recommend snacking while reading this one.
The gore is probably the least gross thing to mention. Overall- it’s just gross in all the ways. Like mentioning the police chief Brody dreaming of when he’s in highschool groping a girl in the stairwell or how he’s married but feels things when he sees young blonds in the beach running bouncing around. Or talk about teenage boys grinding into the sand to get their jolly’s. See. Gross.
But ultimately I was disgusted by Ellen’s behavior. She says all girls fantasize about being a prostitute and sleeping with a bunch of men …. And that she specifically fantasizes about being raped. A whole scenario she explains in detail. Gross, guys. Gross. I absolutely don’t want to hear about this, Ellen. Nobody does.
Furthermore - cheating and affairs is something I don’t enjoy to see. Flirting with married people entertaining flings. Bleh.
There’s elements of prejudice/racists comments. I didn’t enjoy this.
There’s mobs, animal cruelty, and almost every other CW out there for this book. It’s just a big yikes in all the ways.
Specifically - amongst others - a baby dolphin and a cat is killed. I really disliked this book. I rest my case.
I don’t know that this would be considered “open door” necessarily but there’s enough explicit descriptions throughout that I’d go ahead and consider it as such.
Note: open/language
Check CW for this. It’s extensive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
graamcracker's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Wow. I thought I would love this book because Jaws is one of my favorite movies - definitely not the case. One of the few instances where the movie was better. One star for the shark parts, and .25 for the conservation efforts Benchley did after the damage this book did to sharks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Homophobia and Rape
jpolito's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexism, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Antisemitism
msorendreads's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I don’t have words to describe how bizarre of an experience this book was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence