A review by nate_meyers
Brighton Rock: (penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Graham Greene

3.0

Brighton rock is an ok book that finishes stronger than it starts. It's not nearly as good as The Power and The Glory, but still maybe a 3.5-star book. Billed as 1 of 4 Graham Greene books with a heavy focus on Catholicism, I found the religious aspect of this book to be underwhelming. It's simply a good Catholic girl (Rose) who falls in with a nominally Catholic hoodlum (Pinkie) and decides love for him is worth damnation. With the irreligious Ida Arnold serving as a better example of good morals. There's not much more to it than that. To me, Brighton Rock is more a book focused on Pinkie's quest to take over the gang after the leader dies but - in so doing - making series of worsening decisions. His youth and impulsive nature is a big part of this, and by the end of the book its his actions more than anything that have lead to dissolution of the gang. Brighton Rock was enjoyable enough, but I'm not sure it's a book I would re-read let alone recommend that strongly.