heidip22's review against another edition
4.0
A smart and cleverly written book that I enjoyed more than I was expecting. Although parts of it are written in a more old fashioned way that at times are hard to completely understand, the majority is written with depth and wit and I felt hooked into the story and it’s characters.
lilalovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
m_delaney's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
the_reviewer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
linguisticali's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
3.5
This was a bit of a grim, slow, Crime-and-Punishmenty slog but the ending was great. I loved Ida and would have liked to spend more time in her POV than in the kid's. The narrator did a great job.
merinnmg's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
rubyak's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
megan92smith's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bibliomaniac2021's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Finished the re-read of "Brighton Rock," which I must have read decades ago. More acute study of a childish psychopath than a thriller, or "entertainment" to use GG's category. Didn't impress me as much as the first time I read it. One of the problems is that I know the story through the film (probably more famous than the book) whose resolution is different. Also, claims of BR being a masterpiece don't seem so justified, since it's a crime novel elevated into a literary novel, an experiment that I think failed. Some fine writing in passages like the attack at the racecourse, and Greene is very adept at creating the turgid, murky, seedy atmosphere of inter-war Brighton (Kemptown pubs etc), but sometimes it's difficult to keep the pages turning. Amusing in parts like the attack on crematoriums - early on in the novel- which Greene sees as symbols of surburbia and the encroaching middle- class- Greene would be snobbish of this since he was a product of the English upper-middle. Perhaps the major reason for my disaffection is the permeation of the book with Catholic ideology which threatens to turn the book into a long lecture on hell and damnation. Still, for all that, good, delineation of character from the odious young gangster Pinkie to the doxy Ida, stern symbol of impending justice. I would be inclined to award this novel 4 stars, just short of a masterpiece, no matter what the critics might say.