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Killing Lizards
Un étudiant anglais sans le sou rêve de mener la grande vie à Nice. Une femme chauve-souris s’exhibe dans les fêtes foraines, en attendant de devenir danseuse. Un opéré du cerveau oublie qu’il a tué. Un puceau désespéré s’endort quand, enfin, l’occasion se présente. Légèrement névrosés, un soit peu obsessionnels, les personnages de Boyd se confondent avec leurs propres rêves. « Chez Boyd, tout a faussement l’air normal. Sauf que ces personnages trébuchent, véritables jouets dans la main du maître. » Lire
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
84 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
2 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
William Boyd
66 books2,557 followersNote: William^^Boyd
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
Of Scottish descent, Boyd was born in Accra, Ghana on 7th March, 1952 and spent much of his early life there and in Nigeria where his mother was a teacher and his father, a doctor. Boyd was in Nigeria during the Biafran War, the brutal secessionist conflict which ran from 1967 to 1970 and it had a profound effect on him.
At the age of nine years he attended Gordonstoun school, in Moray, Scotland and then Nice University (Diploma of French Studies) and Glasgow University (MA Hons in English and Philosophy), where he edited the Glasgow University Guardian. He then moved to Jesus College, Oxford in 1975 and completed a PhD thesis on Shelley. For a brief period he worked at the New Statesman magazine as a TV critic, then he returned to Oxford as an English lecturer teaching the contemporary novel at St Hilda's College (1980-83). It was while he was here that his first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), was published.
Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. When he was offered a college lecturership, which would mean spending more time teaching, he was forced to choose between teaching and writing.
Boyd was selected in 1983 as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists' in a promotion run by Granta magazine and the Book Marketing Council. He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in the same year, and is also an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has been presented with honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of St. Andrews, Stirling and Glasgow. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005.
Boyd has been with his wife Susan since they met as students at Glasgow University and all his books are dedicated to her. His wife is editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar magazine, and they currently spend about thirty to forty days a year in the US. He and his wife have a house in Chelsea, West London but spend most of the year at their chateau in Bergerac in south west France, where Boyd produces award-winning wines.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 12, 2023
A return to my dads small collection of 1960’s Penguin classics. Didn’t know William Boyd before this collection of 4 short stories. But an excellent introduction to an interesting Scottish writer.
‘Killing Lizards’ is the first of the stories. Set in Africa in the 1980’s Gavin a young boy goes Lizard hunting and finds that his mother is having an affair.
‘Not yet, Jayette’ recounts the story of man living aimlessly in LA writing a film screenplay but really just bumbling through. Jayette is a server in a diner.
‘Hardly Ever’ was my favourite. Boys at a private school hoping to make out with girls at a local school at a joint Gilbert and Sullivan production.
‘Gifts.’ Set in Nice where I have memories of great holidays. An Englishman enrolling at University with limited funds. Hoping to meet women.
Yes there is a theme amongst the stories. But Boyd’s laid back descriptive style I enjoyed.
Ok it’s now England vs Columbia in the Woman’s World Cup…I will stop reading…for a while.
‘Killing Lizards’ is the first of the stories. Set in Africa in the 1980’s Gavin a young boy goes Lizard hunting and finds that his mother is having an affair.
‘Not yet, Jayette’ recounts the story of man living aimlessly in LA writing a film screenplay but really just bumbling through. Jayette is a server in a diner.
‘Hardly Ever’ was my favourite. Boys at a private school hoping to make out with girls at a local school at a joint Gilbert and Sullivan production.
‘Gifts.’ Set in Nice where I have memories of great holidays. An Englishman enrolling at University with limited funds. Hoping to meet women.
Yes there is a theme amongst the stories. But Boyd’s laid back descriptive style I enjoyed.
Ok it’s now England vs Columbia in the Woman’s World Cup…I will stop reading…for a while.
January 26, 2021
And so on to the next of the Penguin 60s mini books - this time from William Boyd. I will admit that this is an interesting journey for me as these are certainly books I would never have looked twice at. Do not get me wrong there is nothing wrong with them - I actually enjoyed reading the short stories of contemporary fiction - its just not what I would have chosen.
And that really is the beauty of this series - what you have are a series of books which although only tasters for the main body of works that these illustrious authors have written it is also a doorway in to new works you would not (I certainly didnt) expect to take.
So what of the stories contained within this are short sharp observations of life long and loss - they reflect the little events in everyday life and how monumental they can be to those that impacted. It is interesting how the stories are of people, places and times I cannot imagine myself being in however the events that you watch unfurl are so universal you can imagine them happening anywhere to anyone.
And that really is the beauty of this series - what you have are a series of books which although only tasters for the main body of works that these illustrious authors have written it is also a doorway in to new works you would not (I certainly didnt) expect to take.
So what of the stories contained within this are short sharp observations of life long and loss - they reflect the little events in everyday life and how monumental they can be to those that impacted. It is interesting how the stories are of people, places and times I cannot imagine myself being in however the events that you watch unfurl are so universal you can imagine them happening anywhere to anyone.
August 11, 2025
3.5 - hardly ever was a highlight, I swear I dreamt this up before
September 6, 2015
A somewhat strange little collection of short stories in this Penguin 60s edition. I have only read one other William Boyd,and it too was short stories. I just don't think he gels with my interest / appreciation.
The first story was by far the most enjoyable for me - but I have to say the cover is excellent, and probably pushes up a star from the stories. For all the stories there was a strange, and unappealing theme of young men with some sort of sexual issues: The first was about a young boy with mommy issues, the second a child star who has trouble adjusting to adult life, the third a typical public schoolboy story about a boy who lies out his sexual experiences to his masturbating friends, and the final about a young man living in Nice - more masturbation and lack of success with women.
I don't know if this is William Boyd's repertoire, or if he also writes about other things - it may be that I never find out.
The first story was by far the most enjoyable for me - but I have to say the cover is excellent, and probably pushes up a star from the stories. For all the stories there was a strange, and unappealing theme of young men with some sort of sexual issues: The first was about a young boy with mommy issues, the second a child star who has trouble adjusting to adult life, the third a typical public schoolboy story about a boy who lies out his sexual experiences to his masturbating friends, and the final about a young man living in Nice - more masturbation and lack of success with women.
I don't know if this is William Boyd's repertoire, or if he also writes about other things - it may be that I never find out.
March 24, 2014
I only know about William Boyd because of his inclusion in the Penguin 60s series. And his set of four short stories is yet another wonderful discovery for me as reader. His prose is easy to read, yet he draws interesting and convincing characters. In the title story a twelve year old British boy lives on an African university campus with his parents. He and his mates roam across the campus killing lizards with catapults. Incidentally he learns more about his mother than he would like to know. Or does it give him power he did not have before? The narrator in 'Not yet, Jayette' was a child soapie star; now he finds it difficult to keep his life together. In the last story, 'Gifts', a young British student at a university in Nice grows up as he realises how people he encounters enrich his life by giving. My personal favourite is 'Hardly ever', which tells of Niles, a boarder at a Scottish public school, who joins the cast of a Gilbert and
Sullivan production with his best friends to meet girls. His double life (his real experiences versus what he tells his dormitory mates) is endearing and convincingly told. The Penguin 60s series opens fascinating windows onto pockets of literature I would not have encountered in other ways.
William Boyd se vier kortverhale teken fassinerende karakters in maklik leesbare prosa. Nog 'n aangename ontdekking uit die reeks Penguin 60s.
Sullivan production with his best friends to meet girls. His double life (his real experiences versus what he tells his dormitory mates) is endearing and convincingly told. The Penguin 60s series opens fascinating windows onto pockets of literature I would not have encountered in other ways.
William Boyd se vier kortverhale teken fassinerende karakters in maklik leesbare prosa. Nog 'n aangename ontdekking uit die reeks Penguin 60s.
March 17, 2025
I saw this wee book in a little free library and had to read it. I read the title story at school and wanted to revisit it. It was interesting to reread, and to explore some of Boyd's other short stories.
April 11, 2016
This is a short story about a boy who likes to kill lizards. Joffrey Baratheon enjoyed hurting animals, just sayin'.
March 13, 2025
These stories, samples from a larger collection of short stories by William Boyd, are a reflection of the personal struggles we all must endure from time to time - things we cannot share with friends or family, things that will end up consuming us, but things we would rather hide than let out. Why do we do such things, even when we have empathetic friends around us? Sometimes, even happy experiences do not seem good enough to share with others. Such things simply stay with us till the end - of our lives. Once again, this book, another in the Penguin 60s collection, proves how most authors draw from real life experiences and incorporate real places associated with their lives.
June 26, 2022
The feel of the stories was a lot like other books I've read, which intend to be literary but which I don't see any particular depth too. These all shared themes of sex, desire and immaturity, but I didn't find anything in them which really caught my attention or expanded my thoughts. The writing wasn't bad at all, it just didn't do much for me.
August 18, 2018
Good prose. Really gets into the mind of the characters. To me the protagonists simultaneously manage to be both endearing and pathetic. I think the titular story could have done with a sequel, left me pretty curious as to what would happen next.
March 21, 2022
4 stories.
1. Title story - great character - he likes kiling lizards. After reading, lots to think about.
2. Meh.
3. Private school masturbatory fantasy. Light but probably accurate. Enjoyable read.
4. Young English lad in Nice. Very light, this one.
1. Title story - great character - he likes kiling lizards. After reading, lots to think about.
2. Meh.
3. Private school masturbatory fantasy. Light but probably accurate. Enjoyable read.
4. Young English lad in Nice. Very light, this one.
May 1, 2022
A small book of 4 short stories that I picked during my holidays at the lake of Lourdes in the south of France. Many cities in France are now installing reading boxes, an initiative to share books and make them travel among tourists and travellers.
June 10, 2019
Rather ... interesting. All four stories made sex seem disgusting.
June 22, 2022
A nice collection of lost souls. Slightly bizarre and weird, but an interesting short read.
March 20, 2023
A little collection of short stories, some better than others
September 2, 2023
I love W.Boyd's writing but it frustrates me so much when the stories don't really end. The first of the 4 short stories almost finished in the middle.
October 2, 2025
Love a short story especially when there’s 4 of them
March 7, 2026
Rated 3.5
This is an odd collection of stories, some of which I liked better than others. Overall they were rather random, but the killing lizards remained my favourite.
This is an odd collection of stories, some of which I liked better than others. Overall they were rather random, but the killing lizards remained my favourite.
April 6, 2014
Didn't like the stories. The tone , settings, old fashioned.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews