
Originally Posted by
RonClinton
Martin, you may be the first person I've seen that liked the JAWS novel. The film is, of course, a classic, but from comments I've seen and my own (ultimately failed attempt at) reading of Benchley's novel, it was in spite of the book not because of it. I found it truly awful, and I give Spielberg credit for having the foresight to see through Benchley's prose and be inspired by the concept.
Hill's THE WOMAN IN BLACK: I just finished it last night, and would generally agree with you...while it was fairly good, I didn't find that its modern classic status was really justified. Perhaps my patience for slow-burn novels is not what it once was, and I do understand that it was a homage to an older style of storytelling, but it felt like the first third could have been lopped off by an astute editor and the book would have been no less for it. As well, I never really felt like the protagonist was in jeopardy (nor, for most of the book, did he), which rachets down the suspense considerably. Maybe a 3.5 star book from me.
The Bloch and O'Brien books: Yep, agreed -- great stuff.