The American: (A Very Private Gentleman)

by Martin Booth

Book Overview

Part thriller, part character study, part drama of deceit and self-betrayal, The American (A Very Private Gentleman) shows Martin Booth at the very height of his powers.

The basis for the 2010 action-packed film starring George Clooney!

The locals in the southern Italian town where he lives call him Signor Farfalla--Mr. Butterfly: for he is a discreet gentleman who paints rare butterflies. His life...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312430019
• ISBN13: 9780312430016
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Very Different Book Than I would Have Imagined

I read Lawrence Bloch's Hitman series and I though this would be the European version, but was I wrong! The Bloch books focused in more on the witty comments and action between Keller and his handler. Booth's book is focused on a previously unknown aspect of a high profile assissination (I won't spoil it for you) that no one really thinks about before. The main character, Mr. Buttefly, is well written and complex as is the plot. I never could guess where the next chapter would lead, much less the book. The other supporting cast are equally enthralling and layered. This book reminds of a cross between A Year in Provence and A John LeCarre spy novel.

Captivation

As a writer I have a intense love for books. I picked this book up at the library. The title interest me only because it contrasted the illustration of the book. When viewing the title I thought it immediately would be a love story. However, I immediately realize that a man was holding a gun and only part of his face could be shown. I begin reading the book. I came to love Mr. Butterfly. He seemed so complicated. At first it seems he is content with not having a true identity or noone with whom he can trust. However, the longer he stays in the Italian countryside the longer he realized that he wants something more. He finally got the chance to see what life would be like if he just settled. He could paint butterflies, sit at the bar with trustworthy neighbors, have intimate talks with his friend the priest, and fall in love with the beautiful young woman. Though his past and most important one of his "mistakes" ends up threatening his future. I have read too many books and realized how story like this end. What happens to the character. Time again I asked myself why am I still reading this. When I got to the end I realized the answer. Booth's language captivated me. Page by Page I waited for the inevitable yet hoping it would not happen. I loved this book, even in the the last sentence he leaves you wanting more. Not only for the story, but also for the character. I was intrugued by how the character was formed and most importantly his profession.

a very good thriller

Come into Signor Farfalla's world as his past comes back to haunt him.Where beauty & death cohabit quite comfortably.Where anonymity is tantamount.Where subterfuge & almost-truths are the language of the day.Where contacts are made via convoluted means, goods are contracted for large sums of cash, projects are accomplished under cover... & a tranquil bright summer in a charming Italian river valley town is suddenly darkened by the arrival of the shadow-walkers...whose intentions he must fathom.Rebeccasreads highly recommends A VERY PRIVATE GENTLEMAN as a very good read! Martin Booth's writing is tasty, smooth & piquant, like ripe peaches plucked from the tree; chilled with frissons of suspense, like perfect Italian icecream.Could not put it down!

A Suspenseful and Intricate Tale

If Martin Booth's new novel A VERY PRIVATE GENTLEMAN is a bestseller, expect Italy to become a highly popular tourist destination. His narrator, an international criminal, spends the novel alternately enticing you to join him high in the Italian Apennines and cautiously warning you from trying to find him.The novel's setting, a small, unnamed, rural Italian village, is exquisite and exquisitely rendered. Booth takes time to describe precisely and poetically the old wine shop run by a maniacal dwarf and an obedient giant, the ancient apothecary whose floorboards have absorbed centuries of spills, and the historic piazzas that inspire nothing but nonchalance in the townspeople who visit them every day.Clarke, which is not the narrator's real name but an alias, poses as a painter of butterflies, a Nabokovian occupation that allows for such eccentricities as long absences, erratic behavior, and no set schedule. So he often lounges and partakes of local delicacies --- the wine, the home-smoked prosciutto, his two mistresses, all of which he describes in tantalizing detail --- while he practices his true calling. Clarke's real profession is much more sinister than painting insects, although equally artistic. He doesn't reveal it until almost 100 pages in, but hints, "I am the salesman of death ... I do not cause it. I merely arrange for its delivery. I am death's booking-clerk, death's bellhop."Despite his obsession with privacy and death, Clarke is an endlessly entertaining narrator, and his insights into the international underworld and the human condition are intriguing. "Everyone is a terrorist," he observes. "Everyone carries a gun in his heart. Most do not fire simply because they have no cause to pursue." Booth's rendering of his narrator's voice is remarkable, both for its consistency and for its intricacy. Not only does Clarke keep his guard up through the novel's course, he also manages to convey a great deal about his antihero without him realizing it. Clarke admits his deception to the reader: "The names are changed, the places changed, the people changed. There are a thousand Piazzas di S. Teresa, ten thousand alleys that have no names ... You will not find me."But Clarke seems unaware of his own self-deception: while he is astute and witty, he can also occasionally be self-important and even boorish in justifying his very private lifestyle. And he studiously avoids cultivating any lasting human connections while wondering how to make his mark on the world, never realizing that to do one is to ensure the other. But his shortcomings become the book's strengths, for as he contemplates life and death in Italy, his flaws --- and his own ignorance of them --- reveal his surprising depth and complex humanity.Booth makes A VERY PRIVATE GENTLEMAN more than just a postcard from Italy; the setting has direct thematic relevance to the story. History is not just a recurring motif, but a character in itself, an antagonist who constantly reminds Clarke

Evocative

I am a big fan of Martin Booth and have read many of his books. What distinguishes him from other authors is his focus on the internal workings of a man's mind, particularly those who have been exposed to war or violence."A Very Private Gentleman" is about a near-anonymous character who makes one-off weapons for assassins. Having done this for decades and lived all over the Western world, he grows weary of constantly watching his back for people trying to knock him off, such as the CIA and Interpol.He decides to build last "piece of art" is built in a rustic village in northern Italy. It seems that a repressed, rootless existence for many years that the surroundings in Italy have finally pricked a hole in this private gentleman's conscience.The description of village life in Italy is delicious and tantalizing, makes one want to retire there. The few characters in the book are solid and a strong function of their surrounds, lending authenticity and strength to the storyline.If you're looking for a good holiday read or just for something a little different, I wholeheartedly recommend Mr. Booth's latest work.