February - Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

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This novel exposes the seedy underbelly and sinister gang culture behind the pleasure façade of Brighton's seafront in the 1930's. With roots in poverty and razors as the weapons of choice it often, sadly, feels that not a great deal has changed.

There are common threads of Catholic morality that run through other novels by Graham Green. In this case they serve to expose the true evil in The Boy, Pinkie, as his hideous, and increasingly desperate, misdeeds spiral. At just seventeen Pinkie is remarkably young and inexperienced to be the leader of a gang of older criminals, especially in the face of a far more successful gang, led by the seemingly untouchable Colleoni. Pinkie is the anti hero and at no point does Greene attempt to engender empathy for this character although we are a given glimpses into the dispiriting world he was born into. 

By contrast Ida Arnold, a loud, blousy goodtime woman, is the only one (police included) that suspects there is more behind the sudden death of journalist Fred, who she only knew briefly while they each visited Brighton. To the reader the culprits are never in doubt and Pinkie will resort to anything to try and escape jail; there is certainly no honour among thieves. While Ida's personal morality would be seen as dubious by many, she is the only one who resolutely pursues the quest for truth and understands the danger to young waitress Rose, an inadvertent witness to crime who naively becomes Pinkie's accessory to the fact.

There were many points of discussion for this novel, including how women were perceived and treated at the time. Not an easy book to read but a story that has stood the test of time.

Book club score: 6.5/10