Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Brighton Rock

  • By: Graham Greene
  • Narrated by: Samuel West
  • Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,580 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Brighton Rock

By: Graham Greene
Narrated by: Samuel West
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

An unabridged audio edition of Graham Greene's classic gang-war thriller. A gang war is raging through the dark underworld of Brighton. Pinkie, malign and ruthless, has killed a man. Believing he can escape retribution, he is unprepared for the courageous, life-embracing Ida Arnold, who is determined to avenge a death.... Read by Samuel West.

©1938 Graham Greene (P)2014 Audible Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Human Factor cover art
The Heart of the Matter cover art
Stamboul Train cover art
Keep the Aspidistra Flying cover art
Happy Valley cover art
Three Comrades cover art
Digital Fortress cover art
One Across, Two Down cover art
The Mysterious Affair at Styles cover art
Altar of Eden cover art
Antique Dust cover art
Extraordinary Powers cover art

What listeners say about Brighton Rock

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    833
  • 4 Stars
    442
  • 3 Stars
    218
  • 2 Stars
    50
  • 1 Stars
    37
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    931
  • 4 Stars
    288
  • 3 Stars
    86
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    693
  • 4 Stars
    359
  • 3 Stars
    183
  • 2 Stars
    62
  • 1 Stars
    45

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bleakly brilliant

Greene is a proper writer. This is one of his bleakest but it is a marvel of fiction writing. Read just right too. 100% recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great storytelling.

I enjoyed the story and the characters, which Samuel West got just right. I will listen to another Graham Greene novel after this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A "just one more chapter" book.

This is one of those books that's been on my 'to read' list for years. I'm so glad I finally got around to it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Lost on me

Pinky is deplorable. I didn’t get many pleasures by spending time with that character. The overall meaning was lost on me. Much preferred The End of the Affair because I understood the theoretical questions Greene was grappling with. I didn’t find this as clear. Maybe that’s the point…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Concentration needed

Overall I found this book a good listen but I did find at times I needed to rewind to clarify what was going on. This was in part down to many characters being involved in the storyline most of the time & if concentration dipped I did lose the plot a bit.
That said it was well written (vague in places) & had a good middle & end I did find the beginning a bit of a chore.
7/10 for me but glad I have listened.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Utterly brilliant...

Graham Greene has a way of transporting you into the past with a great eye for detail and believable characters. What made the book come to life was the brilliant narration from Samuel West. Absolutely loved it....Andrew R

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Well narrated, but....

I think Samuel West is one of the great audiobook readers and his performance here is good as ever.

But this famous and celebrated book left me a bit cold, personally. Before this, I listened to Greene's Quiet American, which felt full of truth. Brighton Rock, on the other hand, is kind of unconvincing. The characters don't feel real, more like vessels for lofty themes that never quite cohere. The writing is always beautiful. But this is a melancholy book. Every taste is sour, every look is one of horror. Despite the great narration, I'm glad Pinkie and Rose's bleak story is over.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking and amusing

Not my usual type of book but was one of these 'couldn't put it down' books. interesting, sad in places and very thought provoking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not a pulp thriller

A lovely controlled reading by Samuel West that captures the tone of this book. The synopsis sounds like a pulp novel but this is far from that with, as mentioned by other reviewers, an ending that stays with you. Well worth getting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic, brilliantly read by and large

Greene is economic and he uses allusions perfectly. Pinkie, Ida, and Rose are beautifully evoked characters from three balanced points in the moral sphere.

The question of morality lurks everywhere in this text, knocks on every door, leans on every railing and banister, sits in the perfumed booth.

My only criticism is West's female voice, at times, but that's just me being picky.

Anyone learning how to write should read this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!