Book #48: “Jaws” by Peter Benchley

 

Jaws

Peter Benchley

 Released: February 1st, 1974

My 18th book for 2024 was Peter Benchley’s “Jaws”.

I picked up a side job at Barnes and Noble this past September and found the 50th anniversary hardcover.  I had to pick it up.  I have heard legends about the novel over the years, much of which has been overshadowed by the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film.

Most people are unaware that the film was actually based on a novel.  A rare moment where the movie is built from a novel as opposed to having a novelization written around the screenplay.  

Martin Brody is a very human character.  He is a very sexual being, he drinks to excess when stressed, he smokes cigarettes, he gets emotional, and you really see something relatable based on the events he faces in the book.

In the film, there is never really shown a true reason why the mayor is so hellbent on keeping the beaches open during the summer outside the economics of the local community.  The novel brings it to light about the mayor's dealings with the mafia, and how much influence they have on Amity.  It brings a compelling angle to how mixing personal deals with your professional life can have dangerous consequences and can even cost people (and animals) their lives.

The other subplot missing from the film that plays a huge role in the novel is Ellen Brody's struggles with her personal life and her marriage to Martin.  She expected more from her life, but due to his career as the police chief of a small summer resort town in New England, she has settled for less than what she had hoped for.  She makes some morally questionable decisions in this one that linger on throughout the novel, and impact other characters.  Something vastly lost on the film.

Matt Hopper's character has some different characteristics unseen in the film.  He is more impulsive, and he and Brody have some more differences that play out over the novel that make the stakes all the more intriguing with additional subplots in motion.

The book reads exceptionally well.  I read it in about 2 days.  It's very difficult to put it down.  I now realize why it sold so many copies upon its release, and why a film was green lit so soon after the novel's publication date.

Some of the scenes in the novel are illustrated quite stunningly in the film.  Quint's encounter with the shark matches the novel to a T.  The way his arms spread, and head tilts back.  Robert Shaw portrayed this character perfectly.  As I read the character's mannerisms in the novel, I found myself singing to myself 🎵 Farewell and adieu to you Spanish Ladies 🎵.

Here is what I learned:

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• Peter Benchley was a speechwriter for Lyndon B. Johnson.

• The events that occurred in the novel were based on a collection of true stories the author learned about sharks over the course of his life.  He just made them about one particular shark instead of several isolated events.

• Great White sharks prefer seals to humans because humans are too bony and fat-free.

• The book states that it was published in the Spring of 1974, however it's official release was in February 1974.

• Fidel Castro felt the book illustrated the corruption of capitalism.

• The novel was on the New York Times Bestseller list for 44 consecutive weeks (However, it never managed to hit number 1).

• Christine Watkins is the first victim of Jaws.

• Hendricks was a Vietnam War veteran.

• The book is set in 1974.

• An Amity police officer has not been killed in the line of duty since 1957.

• Amity has 2 bars, “Randy Bear” and “Saxon’s”.

• A “floater” is a drowning.

• Chief Martin Brody is 41.

• Brody’s wife Ellen is 36.

• Ellen graduated Miss Porter’s School with the class of 1953.

• Ellen was voted “Most Sincere” by her classmates.

• Harry Meadows keeps 16-oz beers in his office refrigerator.

• Watkins had hitchhiked east to Amity from Idaho.

• Alexander Kintner is the second victim.

• Morris Cater is the third victim.

• Ben Gardner is the 4th victim.

• Amity does not have a home postal delivery service.

• The post office is located on Teal Street.

• Minnie Eldridge is the postmistress.

• The post office holds 500 mailboxes.

• Amity was named after a seventeenth century woman named Amity Hopewell, who was convicted of witchcraft.

• Matt Hooper drives a green Ford Pinto.

• According to superstition, a shark’s tooth protects you from a shark bite.

• Billy Brody is 14.

• Martin Brody Jr. is 12.

• Sean Brody is 8.

• An oceanographer is a zoologist who specializes in fish life.

• Matt Hooper drinks Gin & Tonic.

• Ellen rarely drinks but prefers Rye and Ginger.  This night however, she prefers Vermouth on the rocks.

• Harry Meadows like Bourbon on the rocks.

• Dorothy Meadows likes club soda with a twist of lemon.

• Daisy Meadows drinks Gin & Tonic.

• Ellen works at the Southampton Hospital.

• She drives a Volkswagen Beetle.

• The novel differs from the movie by featuring an affair subplot between Ellen and Matt.

• The novel also differs by showing that the reason the mayor is insistent on having the beaches open is because he owes the mob a great deal of money.

• Hopper's fate is completely different in the novel.

• Quint doesn’t follow animal preservation laws.  He justifies that he uses it to survive as opposed to hunters who kill them for sport.

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Overall, the book was an amazing read!  There is a lot more to the story than the film shows (and that's not discrediting the film).  I really enjoyed the story, and the additional elements really showcased why such an amazing novel because one of the greatest films of all time.

"Jaws" comes with my highest recommendation.  If you have never read this book before, you are truly missing out.  You will not be able to put it down.  Highest Recommendation!

On to Book #49: “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros.