252:." She concludes, "There are, of course, things a reader might quarrel with: Mr. Boyd's penchant for broad humor and narrative pratfalls makes, at times, for an irritating glibness; and his technical mastery of the novel form obscures the fact that he has yet to develop a voice that is truly his own - the echoes of his predecessors haunt the achievement of this book. Still, this remains a precocious debut indeed, and I eagerly await Mr. Boyd's next novel".
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from Hazel, his black mistress who is cheating on him, while
Priscilla, his boss's daughter on whom Leafy has lustful ambitions, has just got engaged to his hated underling. To complete his woes Priscilla's father is threatening to dismiss him unless he can dispose of a corpse that has been left to
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Morgan Leafy is First
Secretary to the British Deputy High Commission in Nkongsamba in the fictional West African country of Kinjanja. Leafy's life is becoming increasingly problematic: he is being blackmailed by a local politician, his plan to fix the forthcoming elections has come unstuck, and a
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in
Western Nigeria even though I changed the names, but everybody in it is made up. It’s rooted in my autobiography in terms of its colour, texture and smells but the story is – and that’s something that’s always been the case with me – invented. There is an autobiographical element in that the
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concludes "Boyd can lapse from credible black-comedy into cheap farce. Still, if the worst of this energetic novel is reminiscent of crude sit-corns, the best recalls Waugh and Amis – in a dark yet cheerful nightmare that's juiced along by humiliation, fury, and a highly unsentimental view of
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189:, published later in 1981, but as Boyd explained in an interview the collection was actually written before the novel, though Boyd claimed he had written both when he sent the collection to potential publishers.
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Morgan Leafy also appears in two short stories, "Next Boat from Douala" and "The Coup" which concern his departure from Africa. The stories appear in the collection
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William Boyd grew up in
Western Africa, living in both Ghana and Nigeria. He explains that the setting for the novel "is completely set in
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agreed to publish the novel (as yet unwritten) and collection in that order, Boyd admits "So I said to my new editor,
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character of Dr Murray is very much a two-dimensional portrait of my father."
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in a white heat of dynamic endeavour in three months at my kitchen table.
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had been suddenly transported to the mythical kingdom of Azania in
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349:"BBC Radio 4 Extra - William Boyd - A Good Man in Africa"
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coup is looming. In his personal life he has contracted
325:, April 6th,1982 'Books of the Times', Michiko Kakutani
153:'s first novel, published in 1981. It won both the
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175:rot in the sun in accordance with tribal laws.
306:Interview with William Boyd | The White Review
232:praises the novel, likening it to the work of
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336:A GOOD MAN IN AFRICA by William Boyd | Kirkus
16:William Boyd's first novel, published in 1981
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374:"PAGE TO SCREEN : Boyd's Good Man"
272:broadcast an audio adaptation starring
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858:British novels adapted into films
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283:In 1994 the novel was made into
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83:Whitbread First Novel Award
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285:a film of the same name
523:Ordinary Thunderstorms
338:Retrieved 28 Feb 2014.
259:post-colonial Africa."
159:Somerset Maugham Award
87:Somerset Maugham Award
873:Hamish Hamilton books
853:Novels set in Nigeria
649:Good and Bad at Games
598:On the Yankee Station
308:Retrieved 28 Feb 2014
186:On the Yankee Station
22:A Good Man in Africa
878:Novels set in Ibadan
705:A Good Man in Africa
443:A Good Man in Africa
319:A Good Man in Africa
199:A Good Man in Africa
155:Whitbread Book Award
146:A Good Man in Africa
138:PR6052.O9192 G6 2003
863:Postcolonial novels
838:1981 British novels
531:Waiting for Sunrise
467:The New Confessions
240:: "it is as though
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483:The Blue Afternoon
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383:. Retrieved
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356:. Retrieved
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274:Alan Rickman
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234:Evelyn Waugh
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799:Non-fiction
657:Dutch Girls
641:Screenplays
614:Fascination
270:BBC Radio 4
264:Adaptations
205:Inspiration
179:Publication
161:that year.
126:823/.914 22
832:Categories
745:Man to Man
713:The Trench
426:Works by
291:References
729:Armadillo
491:Armadillo
280:in 2022.
243:Lucky Jim
218:Reception
172:gonorrhea
49:Publisher
761:Restless
515:Restless
499:Nat Tate
268:In 1985
113:53163201
780:Longing
697:Chaplin
385:13 June
358:13 June
818:(2005)
815:Bamboo
810:(1998)
791:(2016)
783:(2013)
764:(2012)
756:(2010)
748:(2005)
740:(2005)
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454:(1982)
446:(1981)
435:Novels
211:Ibadan
79:Awards
39:Author
772:Plays
665:Scoop
71:Pages
563:Trio
539:Solo
387:2012
360:2022
236:and
107:OCLC
94:ISBN
65:1981
353:BBC
226:in
149:is
74:256
834::
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321:,
298:^
419:e
412:t
405:v
389:.
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