One of the funniest, most enjoyable books I've read in recent years, 'A Short Gentleman' is the confession of emotionally repressed aristocratic Englishman, Robert Purcell. He tells of his priviledged childhood, his determination to follow in the footsteps of his judge father, and then of his downfall, having committed an unspecified (until the end) crime.
The narrator is a character who, if I were to meet him real life, I would dislike greatly. He is arrogant, pompous, vain, self-righteous, snobbish and condescending. In fact, he is proud of all those qualities. And he remains true to those defining charactersitics throughout the story. Yet the remarkable achievement of this book is that I actually found myself sympathising with him, and by the end I pitied and disliked him in equal measure.
I was reminded throughout of the 'Adrian Mole' novels of Sue Townsend. Although about in some ways very different chracters, the reader has the same ability to see in the narration of events situations to which the narrator himself remains blindingly oblivious. I had the same urge to shout at the protagonist 'for goodness sake, can't you tell that...!'
There was something vulnerable in Robert's pomposity, his great intelligence hampered by his naivety and determination to act 'properly'. He was a man clinging to a way of life which is largely gone, left behind by time. Yet there was no trace of self pity in his narrative, because that wouldn't be 'correct'.
I very much enjoyed the story - whether Robert is an entirely believable character is debatable, but even if he is a little exaggerated I've certainly met people a bit like him. It's one of the few recent books that has made me laugh. It's not just a comedy though, it will make you think and even move you.
The humour and jokes are largely about Englishness (not Britishness even) - particularly in its more stereotypical form - and therefore I think it is more likely to be appreciated by those with a reasonably good knowledge of English culture and customs, probably those who have lived in the country. Readers without this knowledge would probably enjoy the book less as a lot of the humour and observation are very England-specific and therefore may not be meaningful.
But I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's spent any length of time in England or the UK, and will certainly be looking out for more of the author's books.
