Armadillo

Description: "Armadillo" is the classic comic bestseller by William Boyd, author of "Any Human Heart". 'A young man not much over thirty, tall with ink-dark hair and a serious-looking, fine-featured but pallid face, went to keep a business appointment and discovered a hanged man'. Lorimer Black - young, good-looking, but with a somewhat troubled expression - does not understand why his world is being torn apart, though he does know that for the most part it is made up of bluster and hypocrisy. His business, trying to keep insurance companies from paying out the money they've promised, is a con game run with the protection of the law. One winter's morning, Lorimer goes to keep a perfectly routine business appointment and finds a hanged man. A bad start to the day, by any standards, and an ominous portent of things to come. "Armadillo" is a must-read for fans of William Boyd and will also be loved by readers of Sebastian Faulks, Nick Hornby and Hilary Mantel. "Marvellously paced and ingeniously plotted. A real page-turner". (Andrew Motion, "Observer"). "Armadillo doesn't miss a trick. It has depth and resonance which will make you want to read it again ...zinging readability". (Philip Hensher, "Mail on Sunday"). "As entertaining and as thought-provoking as anything Boyd has ever written". ("Daily Telegraph"). William Boyd was born in Ghana, where his father was a doctor, and was educated there and in Scotland. His first novel "A Good Man in Africa" won both the Whitbread First Novel and Somerset Maugham Prizes, and his subsequent novels have gone onto win many awards. His books include: "On the Yankee Station and Other Stories", "An Ice-Cream War", "Stars and Bars", "School Ties", "The New Confessions", "Brazzaville Beach", "The Blue Afternoon", "The Destiny of Natalie 'X' and Other Stories", "Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960", "Any Human Heart", "Restless", "The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth", "Ordinary Thunderstorms", "Fascination", "Bamboo" and "Waiting for Sunrise". He divides his time between London and south-west France. Review: 'As entertaining and as thought-provoking as anything Boyd has ever written' Daily Telegraph 'Marvellously paced and ingeniously plotted. A real page-turner' - Andrew Motion, Observer 'Armadillo doesn't miss a trick. It has depth and resonance which will make you want to read it again... zinging readability' - Philip Hensher, Mail on Sunday 'A joy to read: east to get into, addictively plotted and beautifully written' - James Delingpole, Daily Mail 'As entertaining as anything he has written... brisk farce and dialogue that can be finger-licking good' - David Profumo, Spectator Author Biography: William Boyd was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana and grew up there and in Nigeria. His first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), won the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Somerset Maugham Prize. His other novels are An Ice Cream War (1982, shortlisted for the 1982 Booker Prize and winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Stars and Bars (1984), The New Confessions (1987), Brazzaville Beach (1990, winner of the McVitie Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize), The Blue Afternoon (1993, winner of the 1993 Sunday Express Book of the Year Award), Armadillo (1998), Any Human Heart (2002, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet) and Restless (2006, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year Award). His latest novel is Ordinary Thunderstorms (2009). Some thirteen of his screenplays have been filmed, including The Trench (1999), which he also directed, and he is also the author of four collections of short stories: On the Yankee Station (1981), The Destiny of Nathalie 'X' (1995), Fascination (2004) and The Dream Lover (2008). He is married and divides his time between London and South West France.