'Pick up Jaws before midnight, read the first five pages, and I guarantee you'll be putting it down breathless and stunned, as dawn is breaking the next day'
-Daily Express; Back Cover of Peter Benchley's book
I followed their advice and I found this book to being absolutely unputdownable. A fabulous description of nature's own killing machine that terrorizes a small holiday island called Amity during their most important season of the year. The film it inspired does not bring to light the depth of the man vs. beast struggle as showcased in the book, nor does it dwell much on the interesting man vs. man subplot, but is one of the finest thrillers that one would get to see.
The endearing aspect of the treatment of 'Jaws' is that so little of the great white shark is seen through the film. Twenty six year old Steven Spielberg’s first claim to fame lies in using anticipation, reaction, descriptions and imagination as key tools in eliciting edge-of-the-seat suspense throughout the film. It is not until the climax that one gets to see the size and shape of the beast. Until then, it is only underwater scenes as seen from the eyes of the shark or water splashing or actor's reactions that create the what-happens-next feel. If this had not been done, arguably, the film would not have achieved the impact that it did. So strong is the aura that is created about the great white, that the classic line 'We are going to need a bigger boat' upon its first sighting is enough to send a chill down the audience' spine. In addition to this John Williams soundtrack of the film is unique in itself as the tempo of the track wonderfully depicts the movement of the shark as it goes in for the kill without having to show the fish explicitly.
