Product Description

'In a class by himself-the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety' William Golding, Independent

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5582 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 282 pages

William Golding, Independent
‘In a class by himself-the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety'

Synopsis
A gang war is raging through the dark underworld of Brighton. Seventeen-year-old Pinkie, malign and ruthless, has killed a man. Believing he can escape retribution, he is unprepared for the courageous, life-embracing Ida Arnold. Greene's gripping thriller, exposes a world of loneliness and fear, of life lived on the 'dangerous edge of things'.

About the Author
Graham Greene was born in Hertfordshire in 1904. While at Balliol College, Oxford he published his first book of verse. He continued to write throughout his lifetime, and served with the Secret Intelligence Service during the Second World War. He died in 1991.

Customer Reviews

Odiously intellectual, although a good story
Some books are just made to be studied in the classroom, where pupils and teachers treat them as a giant puzzle to be solved. Brighton Rock is one of them. The first half of the book shows a good turn of plot but then the book dissolves into thematic development and precious little else. Thus we're created to countless personal morality and catholic references that batter the reader about the head. Theme and plot should work together, with one strengthening the other. What we get with this book is odious intellectualising that clutters up the page.

There are other issues for a contemporary audience. The pre-war Brighton is summarised very effectively, but it's a very alien world to 21st century people -- as alien to us as any world Shakespeare might have dreamed up. I also had trouble believing in Pinkie, the child gangster. Once described as terrifying and cruel, he seemed awfully tame. As they say, "he didn't work" for me and I wasn't able to conjure-up the necessary poetic license for him to do so. I see a traumatised and messed-up kid who needs counselling. I don't see an evil person. End of argument. No more tortuous thematic development needed, thanks. Maybe science killed the philosopher. I don't know.

Greene is a good writer. The characters are fleshy (literally, in the case of Ida), and Greene often has a superb turn of phrase. The plot, such as it is, is a good one. But it just feels that this book is trying too hard to get its point across (and that point feels rather contrived, to be honest). If themes of mortal sin and personal morality turn you on then there's a lot to be enjoyed here (bear in mind they turn me on normally, but failed to do so here).

If you enjoy trying to decipher a book's message then this book is for you. But if you just want a good read, and a good story, then give this book a miss. Greene's other books are far better in this regard.

Brighton Rock
Hi, erm i'm not going to give a huge review about its history and everything im just going to say what i thought of it.
Im 16, in college, my teacher recommened this book to me and i have to say it is absolutley fantastic. I loved it from start to finish and i had never experieced the saying 'I couldn't put it down' like i did with this book. It's so individual and i recommend it to both adults and young adults, as i think it has alot to say and you can learn alot from it.
Anyway the end result is I LOVED IT!!

An unhappy slog
I'm afraid I'm one of the minority who found this book highly put-downable. Only one character is at all likeable (Prewitt) and he only has a very small part to play. The rest are two-dimensional and in some cases (Ida, Rose) scarcely credible.

Very little actually happens. Most of the time the author explains once again what a nasty person Pinkie is. So dispiriting I had to read another novel concurrently just to keep going. In short, depressing, tawdry, melodramatic, even boring. I just didn't get it. Apologies to all Greene fans.