Brighton Rock was not what I expected from a story about a mob but I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same.

It tells the tale of Pinkie, a 17 year old mob leader in Brighton seeking vengeance for the previous leader Kite. This novel (possibly novella) does contain a lot of characters:

-Hale
-Koley Kibber } these three characters are all one
-Fred
-Ida
-Philip Corkery
-Rose
-Pinkie
-Spicer
-Cubitt
-Dallow
-Kite (deceased previous to the time frame of the story)
-Frank
-Sylvie
-Judy

One thing that did intrigue me was the fact that throughout the novel Pinkie is referred to as 'the boy', why? Perhaps to emphasise the obvious, that he is a teenager. He may be a teenager who also happens to be a murderer and gang leader but I found that a lot of the time I forgot that he was just a boy, younger than I am. Probably due to the things that he does, what he goes through, things I couldn't imagine doing anytime.

Early on in Brighton Rock we are introduced to Ida Arnold when she meets 'Fred' (aka Hale, Koley Kibber).After his death she is determined to seek justice and the truth. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Ida, she seems very brash. However, I think as a female character she kicks butt! She's a fabulous female who emulates woman power and independence. She shows she doesn't need to rely on a man, except that time she needs Philip for money.

Let's move on to Pinkie's relationship with Rose, it's odd which I like. At the time Pinkie thinks it's the best thing to do, it's almost a necessity because married couples can't testify against each other in a court of law. To be quite honest Rose is a typical whiny girl, nothing special and she benefits from their mildly toxic relationship. Rose convinces herself that Pinkie loves her and I think this is because she has never really felt loved, her parents don't address her in a family kind of way. In Rose's eyes Pinkie's need for their marriage provides her with an opportunity for an attempt at a happy, loving relationship. In just a couple of words, Rose is besotted by Pinkie and uses the deludes idea that he loves her as an outstanding reason to marry him, in addition to the way he treats her. Pinkie, in my opinion, does grow emotionally as they continue to be with each other- when reading we have to remember he is only seventeen so he most likely won't have experienced being in love. Part of this book is a twisted love story, not only between Pinkie and Rose. Pinkie's love for the former mob leader Kite, resembles that of a father and son.

Pinkie's desperation to keep his secret is another focus of the novel. He's committed to those misdemeanours or mortal sins as Rose refers to them, he wants to do them and come out unscathed. Even though Pinkie is a murderer underneath I think he's actually a big softy, maybe he just has an incredibly hard exterior. This may have been a result of growing up in a unstable setting (Nelson's place) as well as losing his parents and only having himself to rely on.

In one sense I'm reminded of Arthur Miller's 'A View from a Bridge' as it's all about honour and a lot of love. I would compare Pinkie to Eddie in a sense, the trouble he goes through in order to honour Kite and then keep it a secret etc, etc.

I've never been to Brighton myself but I'd love to, when I was reading Brighton Rock I thought of Blackpool. Dingy, dark, grimy that's what I see in my head. If you were reading this and maybe didn't have time or money to travel to Brighton, definitely try Blackpool or even New Brighton. I suppose Brighton would be far from the characteristics described in Brighton Rock, now it's such a tourist destination and seaside holiday retreat that it's not at all like the book.

Overall, I loved Brighton Rock! The first couple of chapter were a bit confusing and hard to get into. Keep persevering like you have to do if you read Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. Oh, also if you've read Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe you might also enjoy the little references.