Brighton Rock

By: Graham Greene

Narrated by: Samuel West

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

An unabridged audio edition of Graham Greene's classic gang-war thriller. A gang war is raging through the dark underworld of Brighton. Pinkie, malign and ruthless, has killed a man. Believing he can escape retribution, he is unprepared for the courageous, life-embracing Ida Arnold, who is determined to avenge a death.... Read by Samuel West.

©1938 Graham Greene (P)2014 Audible Inc.

One of the best writers of his time

Where does Brighton Rock rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Both the book and the performance are fantastic

Who was your favorite character and why?

Character portrayal is so convincing that you cannot put the book down. You know these people inside and out and want to read on. Rose's naivety and the complicated self-deprecating "boy" are superbly drawn.

Which character – as performed by Samuel West – was your favorite?

Both the boy and Rose.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

One of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. The only reason why I put 4 stars instead of 5 for the story is that I was more interested in the writing itself, which is matchless for the way the characters are portrayed. But even if you wanted a good story, this wouldn't let you down.

Great story, Great reader

I saw that this was a very popular book on the audible uk site, and thought I'd give it a go. Not disappointed at all. The reader , also, was wonderful. It is not a cheery story, but this story was written very well, and it came alive in your head.

Chilling classic novel. Authetically read

Brighton Rock is a superbly chilling novel. The characters are incredibly well developed and despite the main character Pinkie being an manipulative, murderous psychopath, Greene still manages to make the reader entirely enthralled in what happens to him. The plot is enthralling and the writing style shows Greene's genius. Samuel West's reading is entirely in character and only increases the enjoyment of this remarkable novel.

Don Colleoni?

This novel certainly makes one hanker for a time when criminals not only feared the noose but even feared hell. Both concepts of punishment having since been removed by well-intentioned reformers, is it any surprise that crime is so much higher in the present day? This is the archetypically "gritty" read in which Greene goes to unusual lengths, even for him, to call attention to the squalid, the neglected, the malodorous, the unpleasant. No characters escape this unsympathetic treatment, least of all Pinkie Brown, who the reader cannot help but "root for" despite his manifestly cruel and exploitative intentions to everyone around him. Making him 17 is part of how Greene achieves this... paradoxically he's almost too innocent to be able to be good. The Miltonian theme of knowledge being equivalent to corruption permeates the whole - Pinkie's depth of contempt is always expressed as "What does he / she know?" and his own corruption is said to date from watching his parents' nocturnal activities. I relished the moral mirror-maze that Pinkie and Rose end up in... Pinkie must learn to love to save his criminal career, and Rose has to discover his depravity to redeem her own life. Samuel West's reading is just perfect - taut and understated, and spot-on with all the stage directions. Quick question - can it just be coincidence that Brighton's chief gangster - dare I say "Godfather" - is named Colleoni? Surely Mario Puzo wasn't a Greene fan?

Everyone involved at the top of their game.

This might be the best audiobook I've ever heard. It's almost certainly the best Greene (maybe tied with "The Third Man" but that wasn't his alone) and Samuel West does an incredible job with it.

Evokes the time and place vividly

If you could sum up Brighton Rock in three words, what would they be?

Graphic, compelling, well written

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. I needed to know how far Pinky was willing to go.

Which scene was your favorite?

Many of them, can't choose

A Real Treat

A man calling himself "Fred" Hale is about to lose his life, and he knows it. He tries to put off the inevitable murder he knows he's brought on himself by befriending Ida, a curvy broad he's just met at a bar, and asking her to tag along for the day. But the second she's got her back turned, "Fred" disappears for good. Pinkie, a young sociopath barely out of his teens is the new gang boss, and one little murder is no skin off his nose, but he wants to make sure he's got his tracks covered, so he romances Rose, a waitress and just a kid, as she'd seen "Fred" that fateful day, and the last thing Pinkie needs is a witness. Rose falls head over heels for Pinkie's rough ways, so now Pinkie must decide between committing another murder or marrying the girl. But marriage is forever, isn't it? And with Ida sniffing around and asking lots of questions, things get harder and harder to keep under wraps.

An excellent novel by a writer who quickly became one of my all-time favourites, this story boasts a cast of wonderfully flawed characters, and the gripping tension doesn't let you go from beginning to end as the protagonists try to make choices between what they think to be right or wrong according to their own priorities, even as they fear the wrath of a God they're not sure how to serve. This version, as narrated by actor Samuel West is a treat not to be missed.

A Jaw Breaker

Brighton Rock is unforgettable, a shark of a read, and so much better than the film adaptions. It is horrific, cold, and cruel, yet it is also green, innocent, loving and mysteriously hopeful.

Samuel West's reading is exceptionally high quality, capturing the comic, noir, and poetic tones, textures, emotions, and rhythms of Greene's intense prose, along with the psychology of each character,from innocently lost Rose, to the psychopathically lost Pinkie, to the heroic sex worker Ida.

The novel's ending is also one of the darkest, and the best, ever recorded.

I found it hard-going

What did you like best about Brighton Rock? What did you like least?

I have seen the movie but couldn't really remember it. I haven't listened to the end of this book as I lost interest. I might have another go at it one day. Perhaps I should see the movie again. It just didn't grip me. Perhaps I wasn't concentrating enough