Jaws, by Peter Benchley (1974)

I remember going through Dymocks in the city and finding Jurassic Park, I didn’t realise it was a book before it was a movie. Soon after I found Jaws. Both stuck with me, but in the end I eventually picked up Jaws.

I enjoyed it pretty much from the get go. It pained the world well and I really connected with the idea of a tourist dependent economy hanging by a thread each summer. Obviously this connected with me being a Greek islander, but I had also watched the Anthory Bourdain film Tony which sort of touched on a similar theme.

Anyway I think the dynamics, and importantly the incentives were great – politics, media and businesses (small and big) all aligned to ignore the threat and hope for the best. I liked the many windows Benchley laid out – the cross over summer wife, the deli owner, the fisherman, the media. The mafia stuff was perhaps a bit farfetched and maybe a little unresolved but at least it was fun.

The tension in the last 60 pages was awesome and I really enjoyed how enthralling it was!