Brighton Rock (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
by Graham Greene
List Price:
Our Price: $8.00
You Save: $8.00 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.98 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Graham GreeneIntroduction: J. M. Coetzee
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-28
ISBN: 0142437972
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of Brighton Rock (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Book Review: A great chin scratcher, but you won't want it at your bedside
Summary: 3 Stars
For a novel that concerns itself with small-time toughs in the small British coastal town of Brighton, one would presume that the narrative would hinge on the actions of men. Indeed, the majority of the characters, including main character Pinkie (though, at 17, not quite a man), are male and they occupy most of the novel. However, the novel's two most powerful characters are female, and its central conflict concerns them. After the murder of a brief romantic interest, Ida is a woman driven to find his murderer, though she is largely motivated by thrill of the pursuit rather than a dedication to justice or even to the victim. Conversely, for Rose, wife of the murderer Pinkie, it is her pledge to him that is to be honored, even above both criminal and Catholic law. One woman seeks justice for less than noble reasons, while another is selfless and devoted, though that devotion helps a man capable of great evil advance his cause. Rose's final assessment of her actions, or lack thereof, make for the most interesting philosophical twist in the novel. She strangely moves beyond mere victimhood, and seems to become the more noble of the two characters.
All this makes for terrific starting point for any discussion of morality and faith. It would fit well in a college philosophy course that discusses the conflict between Kantian and Utilitarian morality. Yet, Brighton Rock lacks humor, exuberance, heart, and tenderness. It is utterly dark, and, as a crime novel, I didn't find the plot particularly clever or gripping. The ideas in Brighton Rock are interesting, but novels should transcend their ideas. I can't imagine that this is a novel that people turn to over and over again, or fall in love with. It's interesting, but I wouldn't want it at my bedside.
Classics Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Classics Books
Native sonby Richard Wright
Perennial Library; Published: 1987; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Native Son: And How Bigger Was Bornby Richard Wright
Perennial; Published: 1993-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $60.00
Raphael and the Noble Taskby Catherine Salton
Harper; Published: 2000-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
Island (Perennial Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith
Harper; Published: 2001-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.86
Price in other shops:
The Great Divorce CDby C. S. Lewis
HarperAudio; Published: 2003-11-25; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.02
Price in other shops:
Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1979-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
This Side of Paradiseby Fitzgerald
Scribner Paper Fiction; Published: 1988-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Black Coffee (Poirot)by Agatha Christie
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-12-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $68.32
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1960s)by Joan Didion
Flamingo; Published: 2001-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.25
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Orient Express (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.76
Price in other shops:
Jude the Obscure (Oxford World's Classics)by Thomas Hardy
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2009-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.27
Price in other shops:
The Third Manby Graham Greene
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1999-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.54
Price in other shops:
The Comedians (Penguin Classics)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2005-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
The Quiet American (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops:
The Ministry of Fear: An Entertainment (Penguin Classics)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2005-04-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
The Heart of the Matter: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.25
Price in other shops:
Our Man in Havana (Penguin Classics)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2007-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.52
Price in other shops:
The End of the Affair (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.34
Price in other shops:
The Power and the Glory (Penguin Classics)by Graham Greene
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-02-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.96
Price in other shops: