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''Armadillo'' is
William Boyd's seventh novel, published in 1998. It was the first of his novels to be based in Britain. Boyd also wrote the screenplay for a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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A&E television adaptation in 2001.
Plot introduction
The story concerns Lorimer Black, a successful
loss adjuster. His original name is Milomre Blocj and he comes from a family of
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
n gypsies who arrived in London in 1957 and set up an import-export business linked to Eastern Europe. They now run a taxi cab firm and are always borrowing money off Milo (as they still call him). Lorimer suffers from insomnia and spends many nights at the "Institute for
Lucid Dreaming
A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment; however, this is n ...
" in search for a cure. He collects antique helmets, listens to African music and is having an affair with Stella Bull, the owner of a scaffolding company. The book includes extracts taken from Lorimer's journal ''The Book of Transfiguration,'' in which he philosophizes on his situation and quotes from
Gerard de Nerval
Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...
.
Hogg, Lorimer's overbearing boss, describes his profession thus: "people turn to insurance to remove uncertainty from areas of their lives. Insurance companies turn to loss adjusters to put uncertainty into insurance, and thus reintroduce uncertainty to insured people."
[Loss leader]
/ref>
The narrative itself begins when Lorimer turns up at a routine business appointment only to find the man he was to meet has hanged himself. From then on his already complicated life begins to unravel as he falls in love with Flavia Malinervo, an unhappily married actress; is assigned to investigate a case of suspected insurance fraud in which a colleague, Torquil Helvoir-Jayne, is implicated; and suffers the death of his father.
Reception
According to the complete review, reviews were mixed. There was "no critical consensus: some loved the writing, some thought it was terrible. The same with the meandering story. Only consensus: Boyd was not being ambitious enough, not using his talents to the fullest".
*Caroline Boucher in ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' writes "In ''Armadillo'' William Boyd has not only written a gripping novel. He also pulls off the coup of making loss adjusting exciting... with good prose, a plot that draws you along and is both unsettling and at times comic".[
* Richard Bernstein in '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' praises Boyd's storytelling talents in "this entertaining novel, which gives us one of the more likable, lost and perplexed central characters yet to appear in his oeuvre."
*In contrast though ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' complained: "You expect an intelligent, thoughtful, and interesting thriller; unfortunately, the expectations are subverted by three inadequacies, surprising in a writer whose previous work has generally been greeted with acclaim and even delight. What is wrong? Well, chiefly, the plotting, the characters and the writing."
Television adaptation
The novel was adapted into a three-part BBC/A&E television series shown in September 2001 with a screenplay by the author. It was directed by Howard Davies and produced by Sue Birtwistle.''Armadillo'' at the Internet Movie Database
/ref>
Cast
*James Frain
James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warwi ...
as Lorimer Black
*Catherine McCormack
Catherine Jane McCormack (born 3 April 1972) is an English actress of stage and screen. Her film appearances include ''Braveheart'' (1995), ''The Land Girls'' (1998), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' (1998), ''Spy Game'' (20 ...
as Flavia Malinverno
* Stephen Rea as Hogg
*Hugh Bonneville
Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a no ...
as Torquil Helvoir-Jayne
*James Fox
William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', '' The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performan ...
as Sir Simon Sheriffmuir
References
External links
*
As Ill Luck Would Have It : In William Boyd's latest novel, everything goes wrong in the hero's life
1998-11-22, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armadillo (Novel)
Scottish novels
1998 British novels
Novels by William Boyd (writer)
Novels set in London
Hamish Hamilton books
Transnistria