Synopses & Reviews
In the small African republic of Kinjanja, British diplomat Morgan Leafy bumbles heavily through his job. His love of women, his fondness for drink, and his loathing for the country prove formidable obstacles on his road to any kind of success. But when he becomes an operative in Operation Kingpin and is charged with monitoring the front runner in Kinjanja's national elections, Morgan senses an opportunity to achieve real professional recognition and, more importantly, reassignment.
After he finds himself being blackmailed, diagnosed with a venereal disease, attempting bribery, and confounded with a dead body, Morgan realizes that very little is going according to plan.
Review
"This is a wildly funny novel, rich in witty prose and raucous incidents...without qualification, a delight." The Washington Post
Review
"Entertaining and successful...a champion storyteller. His prose style is intelligent, vigorous and pleasant." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Comic realism echoing Evelyn Waugh...nimbly plotted, gracefully written...Boyd had endowed British fiction with a welcome depth and liveliness." New York Newsday
About the Author
William Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana, and attended university in Nice, Glasgow and Oxford. He is the author of seven novels and eleven screenplays and has been the recipient of several awards, including the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction. William Boyd lives with his wife in London and southwest France.