From 'Brighton Rock'
From ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene, I’ll take first of all, a love for gritty English writing. The mean streets of London are one of the most interesting settings possible. More importantly though I hope my writing is influenced by Graham Greene’s storytelling. ‘Brighton Rock’ was very realistic, although the story revolved around a mob. The mob was the most interesting part of the story though; there weren’t crazy shootouts and all out gang wars. The novel wasn’t wonderful in spite of that, but because of that. It focused more on the struggles of the characters. I liked that the inner dialogue was more important than what the characters said to each other. As I have only recently started writing myself, I find myself making what I am sure are amateur mistakes. I don’t want my writing to be boring so something absolutely drastic has to happen every 5 minutes. It’s unnecessary. ‘Brighton Rock’ of course has drama; the deaths of Hale, Spicer, and Pinkie were all very dramatic and interesting, but the story didn’t solely depend on those physically dramatic moments to be interesting. The way the character thought and reacted, like Rose knowing what Pinkie did, and staying with him anyways was dramatic. I loved reading every part of the book. Hopefully I can exert his influence of different ways of writing drama.
“It didn't matter anyway...he wasn't made for peace, he couldn't believe in it. Heaven was a word: hell was something he could trust.”
-- Graham Greene, ‘Brighton Rock’
“It didn't matter anyway...he wasn't made for peace, he couldn't believe in it. Heaven was a word: hell was something he could trust.”
-- Graham Greene, ‘Brighton Rock’
Picture at top from: http://www.chicagoreader.com/imager/b/magnum/4497895/6f5e/Brighton_Rock_1__magnum.jpg