A gang war is raging through the dark underworld of Brighton. Seventeen-year-old Pinkie, malign and ruthless, has killed a man. Believing he can escape retribution, he is unprepared for the courageous, life-embracing Ida Arnold. Greene's gripping thriller, exposes a world of loneliness and fear, of life lived on the 'dangerous edge of things'.

Quite a harrowing read but I did enjoy it.

Sending as a surprise RABCK.

Thank you so much for the extra wish list book, let me know if I can send you anything in return 😊

12 Nov 18 - This is such a famous book, my hubby originated not far from Brighton and although not a big reader he had heard of this. Having spent many visits to see family it’s fascinating to see names of places i recognise, however it’s hard to picture what it may have been like in the era this book is based. It was never going to be an easy read, gang land Brighton with such a young leader is not something you expect to read about, especially one who is prepared to do anything to reach his goal, and the ending and his thought process is quite shocking. I did find that I needed all my attention for this book though, it seemed to change tack quite quickly so that if you weren’t on it, a paragraph later you were wondering what had happened and I would have to re-read. I’m intersect to check out the film now to see how it was portrayed on screen.

Sent on as part of the wish list tag forum

Book arrived safely. I look forward to reading it. Thanks for sharing.

The 1930's were a time of depression and austerity in Britain. Both Pinkie and Rose have had difficult childhoods, having been raised in slums, both had also come late arrivals at the initiation into love and affection, so it is hardly surprising that Pinkie turned to violence and crime. However, religion is the biggest mover here. Both Pinkie and Rose are Catholics who believe in mortal sin but whereas Pinkie believes in Hell but not Heaven Rose puts her faith in Pinkie with an almost religious fervour. Pinkie is sexually frustrated, riddled with guilt and disgust with the act. He is a cold and calculating socio-path, but Rose believes that he is not beyond redemption. Her blind love for him creates a struggle within Pinkie, he is unfamiliar with such unswerving affection. In contrast Rose's problem is that she does value herself. She is drawn to Pinkie's nihilism simply because she doesn't believe that she deserves anything better, that cruelty and disappointment is her allotted dues. In contrast Ida is superstitious and has loose sexual morals, she puts her faith in Hale, a man whom she has only just met, but her greatest belief is in the sanctity of life. Meanwhile, Hale employs three different names trying to find anonymity in an effort to protect himself from a harsh world. All are struggling in their own way. Paradoxes and dualities therefore seem to represent what was happening in the wider community. Certainly like Greene’s Brighton, where beyond the gaudy attractions and bright lights of the front, everything appears depressed and decaying. Ida seems to embody a world turning from religion to man-made materialism.

However, all the characters are only very loosely and seem to lack any real substance and it is for that reason that I felt that there was something lacking. Whilst I found the chapter set at the racecourse with its dodgy bookies and gangs gratuitously slashing each other with knives entertaining, I found Pinkie’s angst with society at times interminable. In contrast Rose and Ida felt seriously underdeveloped. Certainly Ida is far from the typical detective.

Pinkie and Ida each try to impress their world view upon the Rose but in a world when we have seen such magnificent literary characters as Hannibal Lecter and Annie Wilkes (in Misery) he seemed lost rather than having any real menace or be frighteningly coercive. He just seems to have a very dim view of the world. Meanwhile in our hopefully more enlightened times it is hard to comprehend Rose's pig-headed devotion to him.

Overall I found this book still to be a powerful read and one that deserves to be continued to be widely read despite what I regard as its flaws.

Going out as one of a thank-you bundle. Read or pass on as you see fit. Enjoy!

Thank you for this surprise package which arrived yesterday.
This is a book I have always intended to read. I have had one or two copies through my hands, but have passed them on. Maybe this is the one I will eventually read. Adding to TBR Mountain!

Having had several copies of this book through my hands, and having started it just as many times, I'm pleased to say that I finally got round to it. Thank you 4evagreen.

I too couldn't understand why Rose would want to stick with Pinkie. I also hoped that Pinkie would experience some sort of redemption and be saved from himself, and worried all the way through that the gang would turn on Ida. I did read the book a couple of times just before bed and soon decided not to do that again. It stuck in my mind too much. A powerful book.

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