Graham Greene - Brighton Rock
My Mum was reading this book for her book group, and she really enjoyed it, recommended I read it too. So I did. I wasn't sure what to expect; the film with Helen Mirren, where the plot was reset in the 1960s (original is in 1930s) and it absolutely flopped. I saw the film after I've read the book, and I didn't feel it really captured the essence of the gang crime or the character of Rose. She came off as so stupid in the film, didn't really portray any of the worries of the period that are in the book, like finding a man to look after you and provide security. I guess the irony is in that Rose thinks she has found it in Pinkie, who turns out to be one of the most dangerous characters I've ever come across.
Pinkie's scheming ability, and the amount you as the reader grow to dislike him throughout the book, is unbelievable. There are few characters I've detested more, and Pinkie's not even supposed to be the villain. I'm sure there are readers who sympathise with his situation, but as soon as he killed Spicer I just couldn't feel any compassion or empathy towards him.
The descriptive capacity of Greene is really fantastic though. It is undisputedly brilliant. It was a good job that the characters were so well developed, and the scene so well set, because the story was much slower moving than that of more modern reads. I only found pieces of it truly exciting. By the end of it, I hated most of the characters, either for their actions, their interfering and not quite clear motivations, or for their weakness. Rose, in particular, was weak and foolishly portrayed in the book, but the movie just made her a complete whelp. She wasn't a relatable female character for me, but hopefully that shows what has changed over the last 70 years.
This novel is, despite all this, a classic, and I loved parts of it simply because Greene uses words so well. I'm glad I've read it, but I don't think I'll read another Greene novel.
