Brighton Rock

Graham Greene is yet another prominent twentieth century novelist that I have been aware of but had not read. Brighton Rock is his 1938 novel about seaside thugs and their struggle for power over Brighton and its horse track.

Pinkie is a seventeen year old whose world stretches no further than the beachfront and horse track in Brighton. He has inherited control of a gang after its leader was killed. Despite his young age, Pinkie's ruthlessness and quick mind make him a natural for succession. The far wealthier Mr. Colleoni has his own ideas on who should handle the action in Brighton, and a struggle for control ensues. Against all this is Pinkie's relationship with Rose, a naive waitress who has information that might link Pinkie and his gang to a murder. Unfortunately for Rose, she has no idea what the information really means and is 'romanced' by Pinkie who has aims at marrying her simply so she cannot be forced to testify against him.

The real interest in this novel for me was the character of Pinkie, who must have been relatively unique for his time. Like Tom Ripley, here we have a central character who is pure evil. Pinkie's abhorrence of carnality and twisted puritanism make him an interesting example of 'Catholicism gone wrong'. He and Rose's actions grow out of a belief that once they have committed mortal sin, all is lost- so what's the point in redemption? This novel is really a meditation on Catholicism and the many ways its adherents can interpret what it all really stands for.

A good novel, but it never particularly engaged me as a story. More interesting was the subtext. Brighton Rock was also made into a film starring Richard Attenborough.

The Stranger

Camus' The Stranger is a classic of existential lit and has no doubt been read by just about everyone who has ever been an undergraduate at any university in the world.

For anyone who hasn't read it, The Stranger is a compact tale about a young French-Algerian, Meursault, who serves as narrator and the literary embodiment of existential philosophy (although Camus never considered himself to be an existentialist). At the outset of the novel, Meuersault's mother has died and he travels to the nursing home she lived in to see to her funeral. Afterward, he returns to his normal life, normal job, and normal pursuits. He strikes up a relationship with a young woman and befriends a shady man who invites him to the beach. During this trip, a seemingly random encounter with some Arab men leads to murder, and Meursault finds himself in jail awaiting trial.

The crux of the novel is Meursault's realization of the absurdity of life and his belief that the end is the end and nothing that happens really matters. His belief system and seeming lack of remorse or concern about his own fate paints him in an unflattering light before the members of the judicial system. Still, it is not the crime he has committed that condemns him in society's eyes; rather it is his ambivalence towards the death of his mother that society cannot understand or allow to go unpunished.

The version of The Stranger I read is not the classic English translation from Gilbert, but an American translation from Matthew Ward that appeared in 1988. Camus had written that he had intended The Stranger to be written in the 'American' style of James Cain or Dashiell Hammett with short compact sentences and an overtone of though guy swagger. Ward's translation attempts to capture this style, and for me, is successful.

The Stranger is a quick read for a rainy day. I'd also recommend The Plague by Camus.