397. Brighton Rock

Brighton Rock
Graham Greene
1938
Around 270 pages

Graham Greene is an amazing author. So amazing, he can get away with adding to the pile of overly complicated crime novels white men were so fond of writing in this era. His unique take on morality adds an extra dimension to a story that could have been forgettable in lesser hands.

This is a sequel of sorts to his earlier novel, A Gun for Sale, which I haven't read because the Overlords did not decree it. Hale is being hunted by the mob for running a story about their slot machine racket in the paper. He has enough time to meet Ida at a pub before the mafia catches up with him. When Ida hears about his death, she remembers how scared Hale was and decides to investigate. Meanwhile, Pinkie will go to any lengths to cover up his crime, including seducing a young waitress who could be a witness in the case.

This point of the view was entirely different than what we are used to with crime novels. We get a lady detective of sorts and the unforgettable Pinkie, who makes our usual villains seem comical. The ending was deliciously dark, and I am not surprised they would change it in the film version. Greene has a strong sense of morality, and Pinkie is everything that dark is the world. I can't wait for more Greene!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The title comes from the old-fashioned stick candy with the name of the town imprinted on the stick, so you could see the name no matter how you crack it. Even the candy was terrible back then.

Greene helped write the screenplay for the 1948 film.

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