Brighton Rock

Rating:
Summary: "Only God may judge me"
Review: If you can get over the fact that the menacing antihero is named Pinky, and resist the urge to put words his mouth along the lines of, 'Eh, Dallow, wot are we going to do tonight? Wee-hee-hee; narf!', you'll find this to be one of the most rewarding thrillers out there. Its style gathers enormous momentum, with long, elaborate sentences like gasps of air, and it's difficult to put down. The character of Pinky is one of Greene's most compelling; like any great villian, he arouses both sympathy and disgust, and his eventual failure is almost dissapointing. Greene's usual themes of guilt and redemption and poverty are well turned-out. Also interesting is the half-revealed backstory, never made explicit; the pace of the novel is such that there's no time for exposition. It's a brilliant, vicious knife-thrust of a book, and one of Greene's best.

Rating:
Summary: Grief beside the Sea
Review: In pre-war Brighton, "Fred" Hale is killed. The verdict is suicide, but Ida Arnold thinks there's more to his death than that, and starts to investigate what really happened. Meanwhile the gang responsible for Hale's death, led by the disturbed and violent teenager "Pinkie", is having trouble covering its tracks - the waitress Rose becomes entangled with the cover-up and with Pinkie.

"Brighton Rock" is a notable early work by Greene, and still has lots to be said for it: he succeeds in conveying the seediness of British seaside resorts and the violence not far beneath the genteel surface. The novel is pacey and involving, particularly with regard to how the innocent can get sucked into crime, or the consequences of crime. Overall, it works well as a short thriller.

The central characters are perhaps less satisfactory, working more as pastiches than real figures. Ida, for example, is larger than life (even physically so), a lady of "easy virtue" with redeeming traits of determination and a sense of justice. Rose is an innocent, dim and vulnerable girl - not replete with common sense but in need of love.

Pinkie though is the main problem. His upbringing contributed towards his deeply unstable and violent nature, and he carries the Roman Catholic faith like a stone around his neck. The guilt of original sin tortures him as does the strictures of dogma - hence his disgust of and guilt about sex (events in his childhood also explain this). I felt that this did not hang together very well - would Pinkie really have had such a sense of religious guilt? It just does not seem to fit. Perhaps this was more to do with Greene's obsession with the burden of his faith, projected (unnecessarily) onto his character.

Despite these faults, I was still well entertained by this novel.

G Rodgers

Rating:
Summary: The Appalling Strangeness
Review: Perhaps the most problematic of all of Greene's 'Catholic' novels, Brighton Rock explores the problem of evil and the question of faith, under the guise of gangster-action. Brighton Rock is problematic in its inability to portray the power of faith, or even the power of love. Greene's central character, Pinkie, has more faith than an average believer, 'Credo in unum Satanum', he says; yet his faith, faith in a God, faith in a Hell, has no power to save hin from utter destruction. In this novel, as in many of his others, particularly End of the Affair, Greene again struggles with the dualistic problem of body and spirit, treading the fine line between manicheaism and a simple dualism. A powerful and gripping piece of fiction, despite its theological problematic nature.

Rating:
Summary: Palpable fear on every page
Review: Set in the underworld of Brighton between the wars, this book seethes with menace. Pinkie, the boy gangster is stalked by the implacable Ida, the good time girl turned avenger. The plot twists and turns upon itself like a dying snake and the characters plod grimly on their tracks, helpless before their destiny. Mr Greene has brought many elements to his book. there is the ever present Catholicism, the burden of guilt, the fear of Hell's fire. Ida, the avenger, is as dogged and merciless in her own way but, feeling Right on her side, has fewer qualms than Pinkie for all his evil nature. Surely this must rank as one of Mr Greene's greatest books and that, given his range and mastery of the written word, is praise indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant characters and atmosphere, effortlessly told
Review: There are lots of books today about groups of people just-past being teenagers but struggling to be or not to be adults. There are also stories about how people, when they're in gangs (or clubs or cults) do things when they're together, that they wouldn't dream of doing on their own. Maybe its just 'peer group pressure' but in Brighton Rock its subtle, and it feels original. I wonder how many books have modelled themselves on this one-I can think of a couple of movies that definitely have.

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful and Haunting Work
Review: There's not much that I would add to the comments already posted by the other reviewers since they've nicely stated the reasons to read the book. I only hope that the concerns about the Catholic imagery in the book don't dissuade people from reading "Brighton Rock" (or any of Greene's other books, for that matter), for fear that they might not "get it". While it's true that there's a religious struggle in the story, Greene's themes are universal, and I suspect that anyone in the market for wonderful writing and a gripping story will appreciate the book, regardless of religious (or non-religious) background.

Rating:
Summary: Just get this book
Review: This book was phenomenal. I cannot tell you how amazing this book is. Normally, I will read a 300 page book in about 3 or 4 days- i read this one in less than 2. i cannot tell you how wonderful this book is, so without any further patronizing of Greene, just get it.

Rating:
Summary: Vibrant symbolism makes this book one of Greene's best.
Review: This is the second book by Graham Greene that I have read, and found it to be a wonderful book. The symbolism, while at times a bit too obvious, aids Greene in communicating his message - that being, as other's have said, the struggle between "good and evil". While the character's of Pinky, the 17 year old gangster, and Rose, the 16 year old girl who becomes embroiled in Pinky's life, are used to contrast good and evil, Rose and Ida Arnold are utilised by Greene to juxtapose innocence and experience, another of the novel's central themes. I would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates the talent's of Greene, and for those who search for more than just a "story" when they read.