Odiously intellectual, although a good story
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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.
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Brighton Rock
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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!!
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An unhappy slog
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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.
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What is the Point?!
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My problem with this novel is exactly what I've written in the title - what is the point? I don't get this story, I don't understand what Graham Greene's aim was when he sat down and decided to write the story of a 17 year old boy who committed a murder and now had to work hard to stop the police from finding out. Is this a novel with a moral message, because if so, what was it? That believing the best in people and loving freely is stupid because you'll end up like Rose, a pregnant widow with a message full of hate left as a reminder of her husband? It can't have been written as an entertaining, enjoyable read because - it just wasn't. The blurb sounds exciting, the story line sounds thrilling, yet when it comes to the actual story, it's dull, and there's no denying it. It's an awkward novel more than anything in which the reader doesn't seem to gain much by the end except a feeling of utter despair at the darkness of the human race - if the aim was to send the reader into a state of mild depression and thought's of `I never want to read that novel again' then Greene succeeded.
None of the characters were particularly likeable or interesting. I've heard people describe Pinkie's character as truly terrifying, but I didn't think so. Cruel, ambitious, clever, yes. Terrifying? Not really. The few characters that did come across as intriguing were killed off pretty quickly as Pinkie's initial murder led to more in order to cover up the tracks (Macbeth anyone?). If this sounds interesting, it wasn't really. The only time I felt involved with the novel was right near the end, where Pinkie is trying to encourage Rose to kill herself, destroying the last of the evidence. Greene's writing here was very powerful and atmospheric, the reader becomes absorbed in the chapter, racing through the pages, excited to see what happens. But then it feels like a bit of an anti-climax, a let down. Maybe this is the type of story that should have been told as a film, I don't know, but something was lacking.
I know it seems like I hate this book and refuse to acknowledge the greatness that is Graham Greene's writing, but that isn't the case. I wouldn't have read this book if my sole aim was to rip it apart, I don't have time in my life to waste reading books that I know I won`t enjoy. But this novel really disappointed me. I've heard so much about Greene and what a fantastic, exciting writer he was, but that must have all swept past me and all I was left with was the disbelief that anyone could make such an exciting plot into such a dull read. I think what was really lacking, apart from action, was more developed characters. As much as I would have liked to see a more humane side to Pinkie, and perhaps an internal battle between good and evil, I know it would have taken away from what Greene was trying to create in Pinkie. But then at least, other characters could have been developed, but instead they seemed to play fixed roles with fixed emotions and qualities that left the novel feeling a bit flat and lifeless. Ida Arnold had major potential as one of the main characters in the novel, yet was once more let down into playing a fixed role, and even her undying desire of avenging Halle comes across as rather fake and unbelievable.
I think it was W.H. Auden that said, `Some books are undeservedly forgotten. None are undeservedly remembered'. But in this case, I'd sadly say otherwise.
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A gripping study of an utterly amoral character
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A very good novel. The Boy is one of the most chilling characters in 20th century English literature, a terrifyingly amoral youngster. Rose, the leading female, is rather wet and difficult to sympathise with from a modern viewpoint because of her extreme naivety. There are some contemporary cultural references that are difficult to follow, but the plot is gripping enough and the ending quite shocking.
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