Armadillo

by William Boyd

Book Overview

From the award-winning author of A Good Man Africa and An Ice-Cream War comes Armadillo , a brilliant satirical noir set in contemporary London. To his colleagues, Lorimer Black, the handsome,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014027944X
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Canada
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

MY OUTSTANDING READ FOR THE YEAR 2001

Lorimer Black is a loss adjuster working in the City of London. Unwittingly he becomes a pawn in a darker world and a side of business life, where corruption, greed and snobbery prevail.From the outset this book had a hold on me. It was fascinating immediately, and very funny. I recognised the characters in people I know and laughed outloud so many times that I became a real pain to those within earshot. I very rarely find literature funny, only Spike Milligan in fact.The writing is crisp and flows beautifully. The bad type of British male: slobby, uncouth, aggressive and misogynist was supremely portrayed in Torquil Helvoir - Jayne. I have seen these guys so many times in real life. William Boyd makes the point that despite his name and connections Torquil is no different to other pig ignorant individuals who happen to be below him in the class order.William Boyd has a fine reporter's eye and can build characters that are believable and a wonder to behold.There are a number of important themes in this book but the main one is the struggle to be someone other than ourselves. A British trait I am afraid, a response to the class bias where we are judged as soon as we open our mouths, in our accents, the way we speak and dress.Like so many others in Britain poor Lorimer fell for it hook, line and sinker.There is a great play in names: Milo Blocj becomes Lorimer Black, David Watts the clapped out rock star had also changed his name. Pretence and more pretence. The book says that underneath it all we are all the same insecure and fragile individuals. Eventually the unreality catches up and drags us down. We wear armour that eventually proves to be too heavy, to be discarded so that real life can enter. Hence the armadillo - the little armed man. The layers are slowly stripped away. And the final piece - the helmet is cut away. Despite Lorimer's adherence to style and clambering up the English greasy pole of class snobbery, in the end he reverts back to himself - Milo the European ethnic. That's when he starts to live life and find true happiness.It is a great book and one of my best reads for the year 2001. I can't wait to read some more William Boyd.

A profound and brilliant novel

Hilarious and thought provoking. Boyd brings the reader so close to his main character, were it not for for his previous works you would scarcely believe Armadillo is not significantly autobiographical.

Ranks with the best of Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, & W. Trevor

A brilliant piece of psychology as well as a genuinely good read. Boyd makes the reader really care about his highly flawed protagonist, who is among the most believable in modern literature. "Armadillo" ranks with the best work of William Trevor, Martin Amis, and Ian McEwan.

A real return to form

It was marvellous to be able to pick-up this new novel by one of my favourite authors and realise that he had found a rich vein of inspiration. Although at times the novel and some of its characters reminded me of recent Martin Amis, Boyd managed to avoid the excesses of that author. The London setting was real, the bars were real and the people were spinechillingly real. The character of Lorimer Black was pure genius and one so wanted him to escape unsacthed. The marvellously brutish Hogg was still a character one could warm too but not get too close. And one could write about Flavia forever. The plot twists and turns into a complex maze that make you read this book into the early hours. A gem.

Way-out, weird wonderful work

It is a cold winter's day in London that is about to get much colder for claims adjuster Lorimer Black, who must feel that he is visiting the Twilight Zone. He goes to see his client, Mr. Dupree, only to find him hanging from the ceiling, an apparent suicide. After calling and dealing with Officer Rappaport of the police, all Lorimer can think of is what a way to start a day. Not to long after that, an over-insured hotel burns down and his boss wants Lorimer to investigate. Frauds and scams seems to be the message of the day. However, life subsequently turns truly rotten for Lorimer. His car is vandalized and his father abruptly drops dead. Before he can even begin to mourn, he is fired. What's a man to do, when you suffer from a sleep disorder? Hopefully you get a dream-laden, good night's sleep. If ARMADILLO sounds weird and a bit off centered, don't lose any sleep because that is what the novel is all about. In the capable hands of William Boyd that strangeness works, providing the reader with an ironic but extra dark look into London whose pendulum fails to swing back and forth. Lorimer is a wonderful character, whose world is falling apart in spite of his efforts to simply fit in with his peers. Readers who enjoy a dark intrigue need to try Mr. Boyd's latest novel because it is a winner.Harriet Klausner