Jaws

By: Peter Benchley

Narrated by: Erik Steele

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Jaws is the classic, blockbuster thriller that inspired the three-time Academy Award-winning Steven Spielberg movie and made millions of beachgoers afraid to go into the water. Experience the thrill of helpless horror again - or for the first time!

Jaws was number 48 in the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies, and the film earned the coveted number-one spot on the Bravo network's 100 Scariest Movie Moments countdown.

This timeless tale of man-eating terror that spawned a movie franchise, two video games, a Universal Studios theme park attraction, and two musicals is finally available on audio for the first time ever!

©2002 Peter Benchley (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks America

Different

Entertaining, more human focused, but vastly different from film. Still a fun book though.

Which Version

Reading the book "Jaws" by Peter Benchley is very different than watching the movie from Steven Spielberg. The film is a terrifying thriller about a killer in the ocean and the book is more about a marriage that is on the edge to failure. Both in the movie and the book, there is a shark, but the book is more about Chief Brody and his failing relationship with his wife and we all know what happens in the movie. "Duh Dum Duh Dum..."

I just can't believe how Spielberg got his inspiration from Benchley's novel because beside the fish, Amity Island and the main characters, the book is totally different than the film. There is very little to compare between the two media. Both are very different from each other, where when you read this book, you are reading the polar opposites to the movie.

I can't really say which version is better. The movie was a shocking paranoid thriller and the book is about a police chief in a town with a failing marriage, and he is getting ready for tourist season with a shark in their beach.... Then, he tries to go fishing to catch the great white.

Awesome book

This is my favorite book, I’ve read it 6 or 7 times, I didn’t know if I would like the audio version but I was pleasantly surprised.
It was very enjoyable listening to this on my long rides into work

Way More Than The Movie

I started this book for the same reasons everyone else starts Jaws. To see how it differs from the movie and to determine which is better. This like all books compared to movies have so much more detail to offer the reader. Jaws does a great job creating suspense and horror when the time is right. Is the boy going to get out of the water in time!? or is he going to be the 20 foot great whites next lunch!? you never know with Jaws and that is why i really enjoyed this book. There is even a scandalous love triangle that goes on that adds to the depth of the story. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good suspenseful ride with a great story attached to it.

The dangers of the deep blue sea

Would you consider the audio edition of Jaws to be better than the print version?

I think Mr. Steele did an outstanding job narrating this classic story. You can truly feel the emotions of the characters within the story; especially the interactions of Hooper, Brody, and Mr. Quint.

What did you like best about this story?

The setting of the story for me is very nostalgic; I saw this movie with my dad when I was six years of age. My dad loved the movie and I remember being terrified of going into the ocean water for fear of the big shark. This is how I was introduced to sharks in my life and I grew up being fascinated by these awesome oceanic creatures of the deep.

What does Erik Steele bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

To me he really brought the characters to life; and like I said before you can really feel and sense the interaction of Hooper, Brody and Mr. Quinn.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Larry Vaughn begins to tell Martin how he got involved with the mafia; you can't help but sympathized with his suffering and precarious financial situation he finds himself in.

Any additional comments?

I kind of wish they would remake JAWS the movie with today's modern technology. That movie would be a sensational hit once again.

Just when you thought it was safe...

Not since Forest Gump have I appreciated the skills it takes in taking an average novel and transforming it into a cinematic masterpiece.

While Jaws isn't bad in itself, it may leave those expecting a deeper understanding of the movie's characters a little disappointed. Without spoiling anything, let's say that Hooper should have spent more time on the boat and less time socializing with the locals.

Nevertheless, it offers an interesting perspective into the sociological, economic and personal effects of an unknown element (the shark) disrupting a fragile environment (Amity's summer economy) and for that reason I still recommend it for fans of that Carcharodon carcharias.

Too much like the movie

With the length of the book, I thought it would be different from the movie. But, there was not much additional information that was not in the movie.

surprising

things happen extremely differently in this book than in the movie I recommend skipping all of chapter 8

Very different than the movie.

The movie, Jaws, is one of my all-time favorites. I decided to listen to the book because in general, the books are more detailed and have more backstop. while most of the characters are the same, and of course the killer shark is the star, the character's stories are a bit different. if you can separate your expectations from the movie, it's a good listen.

Actually impressed

I did not think this book would be very good. I was wrong. It was very descriptive and wove an amazing story.