Armadillo
Written by William Boyd
Narrated by Simon Shepherd
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
William Boyd
William Boyd is also the author of A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice-Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys War Prize and short-listed for the Booker Prize; Brazzaville Beach, winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; Restless, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year; Ordinary Thunderstorms; and Waiting for Sunrise, among other books. He lives in London.
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Ordinary Thunderstorms: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Restless: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waiting for Sunrise: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sweet Caress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Armadillo
191 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5He was in his failed detective novel phase. About some complicated insurance scam - good writing, especially in the beginning, but he seems unclear if he wants to write a love story or a detective novel, and neither quite worked.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5As you'd expect from William Boyd, Armadillo is well written and readable. The plot isn't quite strong enough though, or the characters particularly interesting. I'd describe several of Boyd's books - notably Any Human Heart, Restless and Brazzaville Beach - as absorbing; this one isn't.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bought this on a whim, took a little while to get into it, but once it got into its stride, wow!! Torquil Helvoir-Jayne is possibly the best comedy character I have encountered in fiction. Some fantastic writing here, definitely left me wanting to read more of Boyd's work
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is one of those books that's more of a 'what can happen next' variety than a story with a specific purpose. Because of that it is more interesting than compelling and leans more heavily on character and characterization than with action. It also has an ensemble cast sort of feel to it, similar to the supporting cast in Boyd's later book Ordinary Thunderstorms. Most of them are caricatures; the sage, the buffoon, the evil boss, the feckless brother. Lorimer Black has to deal with all of them and try to keep his head above water at the same time. Most of them don't make it easy to do so.Lorimer is quirky and mysterious enough to drive the story well, but isn't cartoon-y. I loved the Book of Transfiguration device. It seemed fresh; not quite a journal, but since it's written by Lorimer it gives us a lot of insight into his past, opinions and state of mind. A recurring subject in the Book of Transfiguration is sleep. Lorimer doesn't get much and throughout the novel attends a sleep clinic to try to harness his lucid dreams so he can sleep better. As many other things in his life, this doesn't work out quite as well as he'd hoped. Another frequent subject in the BoT is armor. Lorimer collects armor, well he collects helmets. Sort of. In the beginning he has 3 ancient helms which get traded in on a 4th, much more expensive item, the fate of which is amusing. Other subjects in the BoT are a partial history of his family, key to understanding his relationship and new name; George Hogg, Lorimer's boss and chief tormenter; the incident of Sinbad Fingleton, the shepherd's pie and the television which culminated in L's flight from Scotland and immediate name change.As you can see, this is a really difficult book to describe. If you like modern farce, societal send-ups and just plain whackiness, The Armadillo is perfect.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book, released a couple of years ago, will undergo something of a re-discovery as a result of the excellent series running on BBC Prime. Aficionados of William Boyd will recognise the style - Its similarity to Brazzaville Beach is that the real significance of the book can only be understood once the whole is read, which adds to the enjoyment – not only an excellent read in itself, but the after-frisson of thought provocation. On the face of it, the book is a bit of a “whodunit”, featuring the travails of Lorimer Black. By day a loss adjuster working in the City of London, by night an unremitting insomniac taking part in a sleep study that reveals his darker side. As we all know, societal rules and norms in most societies tend mainly to apply to the underlings with the aristocracy marching to their own drumbeat impervious to such trivia as laws. Here it is the same – the rich and the powerful seeking to make a killing; but the loose ends start to unravel as Lorimer intuitively and intelligently investigates an insurance loss that leads to darker world and a side of business life, where greed, corruption hold sway. Boyd writs fluidly and the characters are exquisitely drawn, immensely recognisable, and great fun. From the boorish, misogynist Torquil Helvoir, the archetypal modern-day Hooray-Henry, to the ethereal and mysterious Flavia, the book cuts a swathe through the pretensions of British mores and manners. The central theme is that of identity, the human need to “fit in” and the inner struggle when some of the corner stones of our need for acceptability start to fray. Peculiarly British in some regard, where the class system still prevails, but universally prevalent even in the apparently classless USA, and in many ways holding stronger sway today than in the last century. After all is not “class” the cornerstone of branding? Lorimer, following a life-changing experience in Scotland, seeks the anonymity of conformity, with the trappings of success that it brings, masking the insecurities and fragility prevalent in us all. As the story unravels, as the truth outs, the weight of the armour we all carry – Lorimer is an expert on armoury – becomes too much to bear, and the man beneath is revealed. Armadillo, literally meaning the “little armed man”, now pared bare, the layers of disguise slowly stripped away. All William Boyd is worth reading – and this is certainly no exception.