Armadillo - William Boyd

This book starts with an impact... a man is found hanged, this event turns Lorimer Blacks life upside down. Lorimer Black is the key character in this book, he works in insurance as a loss adjuster, he collects antique helmets and is taking part in sleep disorder research. These bare facts about his life hide much deeper themes regarding the human condition. He like us all is looking for safety and security. In our modern society we have found ways to achieve the feeling of security - we have insurance to protect us from lifes misfortunes, we have armour and weapons and we have our money and our status. Lorimer has a sleep disorder and as the novel progresses and ...  Read the complete review

It took me a while to get into this book but I am glad I stuck with it as I was eventually rewarded with a satisfying and enjoyable read. “Armadillo” is a tale of yuppie businessmen, pretentious wine bars and London café society, posh nobs, death, corruption and a dash of black farce. It was not what I would call a compelling read but I was intrigued by it enough, enough to carry on reading at any rate. It begins with Lorrimer Black discovering a business client hanging from the end of a noose. Not a jolly start to a novel but then it’s no really a jolly novel. It peters along at a trot rather than breakneck speed. Lorrimer is a ...  Read the complete review

William Boyd's novel about an insurance loss adjuster doesn't necessarily have enticing subject matter, but his style more than compensates for the fact that you're basically reading about one of the dullest jobs known to mankind. Sure, there's enough double-dealing and gangster activity to keep a Goodfella fan happy, but it's not really what sells it for me. The characters are well drawn and detailed -- the reader imagines that the author knows a lot more about them than he writes about, and it gives the book a well-rounded feel. It may be a little too fin-de-siecle for some tastes, but at least to book looks a little harder at some of the ...  Read the complete review