Reviews for Brighton Rock

The average rating for Brighton Rock based on 1 review is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-09-16 00:00:00 Richard Peralta The story is set in Brighton, a Coney Island type beach resort a day-trip by train from London. Pinkie, a young man who is pure evil, is in control of a mob-like gang. It was never quite clear to me where the actual money comes from but it appears they are making money off the numbers racket or illegal slot machines. (The novel was published in 1938.) Fred, another young man, distributes cards anonymously for a newspaper guessing game competition. Pinkie, the teenage sociopath, is hunting down Fred to stab him for somehow crossing the gang. Fred is desperately trying to hook up with a woman � any woman -- to keep him company so he can�t be stabbed in front of a witness. Doesn�t work � he gets stabbed and killed. Ida, one of the women Fred had tried to befriend is shocked by Fred�s death and starts acting like a private investigator retracing Fred�s and Pinkie�s paths that day to give evidence to the police. Pinkie the gangster even goes so far as doing a quickie marriage with a young waitress who knows too much (since a wife can�t testify against her husband). Ida is also trying to save the waitress (of barely legal marrying age) from the scumbag. Pinkie, completely amoral, goes on to kill other members of the gang who were skimming money or knew too much about Fred�s killing. There�s a Catholic theme, as in many of Greene�s novels. Both Pinkie and the waitress are Catholic and they talk about morality and the afterlife. The girl is devout but Pinkie is so disillusioned by life that he would just as well be damned. This is one of Greene�s earliest novels (1938). Greene lived 1904-1991 and published novels and short stories until 1990. The title comes from a candy stick sold locally that has an image all the way through � I guess a metaphor for the evil of Pinkie. Top photo, a street scene in Brighton, from condenast.cntraveler.com Candy from www.foodsofengland.co.uk/ Photo of the author from NY Times.com