Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant but flawed, Boyd has done better.
Review: While "Armadillo" is a must read for fans of Boyd, newcomers to this brilliant contemporary author should read "A Good Man in Africa", "The New Confessions", "Brazzaville Beach", and "The Blue Afternoon" before tackling Armadillo.While Armadillo has the same sublime character development as these earlier works, the plot creates dissonances which are never resolved, and the novel seems to be truncated rather than concluded, as if Boyd intends to give us a second volume but doesn't bother to tell us. Read the book and enjoy the richness of the characters, but keep in mind that Boyd has done a better job merging character and plot in most of his other works.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow start but a great read
Review: Whilst beginning Armadillo, I was slightly put off by the slow start. I thought, a few times, that I might move on to something else. Boyd spends a lot of time setting this one up. However, I continued and the payoff was worth it. Boyd is a fabulous writer and was able to produce this wonderful novel that seems to cross all types of genre barriers - is it a mystery, thriller, romance? Bottom line: I was very pleased that I read Armadillo. A fine book by a fine author.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start but a great read
Review: Whilst beginning Armadillo, I was slightly put off by the slow start. I thought, a few times, that I might move on to something else. Boyd spends a lot of time setting this one up. However, I continued and the payoff was worth it. Boyd is a fabulous writer and was able to produce this wonderful novel that seems to cross all types of genre barriers - is it a mystery, thriller, romance? Bottom line: I was very pleased that I read Armadillo. A fine book by a fine author.
Rating:
Summary: London calling
Review: Whilst I can see and appreciate the main themes within this book - being afraid to be yourself and the absurdity of the British class system. I didn't really feel like I got to know any of the characters that well. The twist and turns of the plot seemed pretty far fetched to me. I found it more sad than amusing. Perhaps it speaks more to men than to women, I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I had hoped for.
Review: Whilst I can see and appreciate the main themes within this book - being afraid to be yourself and the absurdity of the British class system. I didn't really feel like I got to know any of the characters that well. The twist and turns of the plot seemed pretty far fetched to me. I found it more sad than amusing. Perhaps it speaks more to men than to women, I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of his Great Books
Review: William Boyd has written some great novels, but unfortunately this isn't one of them. The characters are well developed, believable and it does become important what happens to them , particularly Lorimer, however the twists and turns in the plot lack tension and suprise. In comparison with the books I've really enjoyed, Ice Cream War, A Good Man in Africa,The Blue Afternoon where there were always developments in the plot that were unexpected and created a tension in the plot that pushed on to the next resolution.This book has a similar, recognisable structure, but there aren't quite enough "unpredictable" suprises that put it up with the greats. I look forward to the next novel with hopes of a return to "Greatness"
Rating: 
Summary: High Comedy Mixed With Some Pathos...Perfect
Review: William Boyd is a rare novelist who can write superlative serious, literary fiction (BRAZZAVILLE BEACH) and superlative humorous fiction (A GOOD MAN IN AFRICA). When I came upon ARMADILLO in a bookshop, I had absolutely no qualms about buying it and I felt, quite rightly, that I was going to be in for a very good read.
ARMADILLO is Boyd's send up of the insurance business and it's set in London but the book is far from being a travelogue. The picture Boyd paints of London makes me want to avoid it forever (well, almost), not visit it. In Boyd's London, almost any sort of horrendous misfortune can, and does, befall the unwary (and the wary as well). In fact, Boyd sometimes seems to go overboard in giving us "unsavory" details, but he does give them in a very amusing manner.
The protagonist of ARMADILLO is Lorimer Black, a claims adjuster who just happens to collect ancient bronze helmets as well. There's no connection between the two...Black just has a hankering for ancient bronze helmets...until he comes to realize that even ancient bronze helmets offer no protection at all against the perils of modern day London.
When Black is called upon by his company to investigate a fire that destroyed the Fedora Palace Hotel, the plot and theme of ARMADILLO, which I won't go into here, begin to take shape. Black receives death threats, but they're nothing he can't handle since his brother, the owner of a minicab company, is a rather unsavory character, himself.
Lorimer Black, though, isn't really...Lorimer Black. His real name is Milomre Blocj and he was born to a family of gypsies. Lorimer, however, can easily juggle two identities at the same time (and probably even more). After all, he juggles so much else. The man he is depends heavily on the client he's meeting with and, additionally, he's performing a balancing act of some difficulty by having affairs with two women at the same time, his long time girlfriend, Stella (whose daughter, Barbuda, also gets "into the act") and the ravishing, married actress called, of all things, Flavia Malinverno (Italian for "bad winter" and yes, this does have a meaning in the context of the story).
If the main characters of ARMADILLO are wonderfully drawn (and they are), the minor characters are masterpieces as well. One is a male flower-seller named Marlobe whose views on everything from Parliament to why well-endowed women should have flat heads will remind almost every reader of someone they've met...and perhaps wished they hadn't.
So many books that are billed as "comic novels" end up being tremendous disappointments instead. This is definitely not the case with ARMADILLO. It is rich in characterization, with sharp dialogue (this book is not nearly as subtle as THE BLUE AFTERNOON) and a complex narrative structure. It really is as good as the brilliant BRAZZAVILLE BEACH, but I think some readers will dismiss ARMADILLO as "not as good" simply because it is comedy and not high drama.
ARMADILLO offers us the best of comedic books: a narrative that is truly funny but something with substance as well. There is comedy aplenty in this book, but there is pathos as well and an astute reader won't miss either. Boyd is a marvelous writer. He can do subtle, poignant narrative (THE BLUE AFTERNOON), he can do drama (BRAZZAVILLE BEACH) and he can do comedy (A GOOD MAN IN AFRICA, ARMADILLO). Boyd is a writer who can do just about anything, and, what's more, he does it exceedingly well. I'm on a quest to read everything he's ever written. If you love well-written, comedic novels, you really can't afford to miss this one.
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