A Very Private Gentleman
{{short description|1990 novel by Martin Booth}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{infobox book |
| name = A Very Private Gentleman
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = A Very Private Gentleman.jpg
| caption = First UK edition
| author = Martin Booth
| illustrator =
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| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| genre = Spy novel
| publisher = Century Publishing (UK)
| release_date = 1990
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print (hardback and paperback)
| isbn = 978-0312309091
| dewey =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
A Very Private Gentleman is a novel written by British author Martin Booth, published in 1990. It is a tragedy following events in the life of a gunsmith who sells his services to assassins.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312309084 |title=A Very Private Gentleman |last=Booth |first=Martin |date=26 January 2004 |isbn=978-0-312-30908-4 |access-date=5 February 2016 |url-access=registration |publisher=Macmillan}} The style is also partly in the form of classic confessional writing, as the protagonist seeks to explain the relevance of his choice of vocation. It was reissued by Bantam Books in 2010 under the title The American ({{ISBN|978-0553825725}}), after a film of that title had been made based on it.{{Cite book|edition = First Edition, Media Tie-In, Previously published as A Very Private Gentleman|title = The American|url = https://archive.org/details/american0000boot|publisher = Picador|date = 17 August 2010|location = New York|isbn = 978-0312430016|language = English|first = Martin|last = Booth|url-access = registration}}
Setting
The time of the story seems to be late 20th century, more or less similar to the year of publication. The story is written in the first-person narrative from the point of view of the main character, who is known as Edmund or Signor Farfalla. He lives in a small hill town in the north of Italy.{{Cite web|title = A VERY PRIVATE GENTLEMAN by Martin Booth {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|url = https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/martin-booth/a-very-private-gentleman/|website = Kirkus Reviews|access-date = 5 February 2016}}
Plot
Signor Farfalla makes his living custom-fitting firearms as specified by assassins. To the townsfolk he puts on the role of a painter of butterflies, which can be found in diverse and rich measures in the hilly and forested areas around the village. He is reserved and highly skilled at keeping his real job a secret. Edmund is a foreigner, and although he does not reveal his origin to anybody, he pretends to be an Englishman. This is not far from the truth, since he admits to having stayed in the English countryside for a long time at an earlier stage in his career. Though his profession has demanded that he change locations from time to time, he has developed a fondness for the Italian village, in particular a young woman, and decides to stay. However, a person described as a "shadow-dweller" starts showing up in the mountains spying – or threatening – Signor Farfalla. While finding out who he is, the latter must decide whether to face his opponent or leave his home once more.
Characters
- Signor Farfalla is a middle-aged man who is possibly from a country where English is spoken as a first language. He is a skilled craftsman, first and foremost with metal; but he is also a painter.{{Cite web|title = The Seattle Times: Books: 'A Very Private Gentleman': Enough intrigue to fill two lives|url = http://seattletimes.com/html/books/2001866869_booth29.html|website = The Seattle Times|access-date = 5 February 2016}} He is well-read and spends much of his time lecturing to the reader about history, culture, politics, religion and literature. The time of writing of the story has Signor Farfalla sitting at an unknown place shortly after the events of his story. He is a thorough storyteller, who is very focused on describing the landscape and geography in which his story unfolds. However, he is also a lecturer of sorts, who takes great care to digress from the action of the story, to inform the reader on various subjects as they arise. He includes small essays about politics, religion, history, culture, as well as expositions about his own secret profession and the machinations of his own small and sinister "world". Unlike what one might expect, Edmund is not apologetic about his profession. On the contrary, he sees the need for people who kill to change the world for the better.
- Father Benedetto is the local Catholic priest in the Italian village. He befriends Signor Farfalla; and they discover a shared interest in wine, food, and the joy of debate and discussion.
- Clara is a young Italian student. She meets Signor Farfalla when he becomes her regular client in the local bordello. After a while, the two begin an actual relationship.[http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-30908-4 Review of A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth – Publishers Weekly]
Adaptation
The novel was adapted by Rowan Joffe into a screenplay for the film The American (2010), which was directed by Anton Corbijn and stars George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido, Irina Björklund, and Paolo Bonacelli.{{Citation|title = The American|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440728/|date = 1 September 2010|accessdate = 5 February 2016|first = Anton|last = Corbijn}} Concurrent with the film's release, the novel was republished under the same name by Bantam Books, with a cover design promoting the movie.
The film makes several small departures from the book's plot. For instance, the gunsmith has an agent in the film, whereas he finds work on his own (or it finds him) in the book. The main differences between the novel and film are the aesthetic tones and the ending. In the book, Edmund is an intelligent and persuasive defender of his work, while the film portrays a feeling of doom. While the book concludes with Edmund's leaving the village and Clara, the film adaptation fades to black only after Edmund has collapsed after being shot (whether he survives or dies is left unexplained).
References
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