Rupert Owen reviewed Stiff upper lip by Lawrence Durrell
Review of 'Stiff upper lip' on 'GoodReads'
3 stars
If you fancy a leisurely read for an hour or two, Durrell's Stiff Upper Lip could well do the trick. Durrell departs from his more florid accounts of diplomatic life found in his other books to provide a few anecdotes from a "dip" (diplomatic) perspective. These are ditties with no twists or turns, pretty much standard gag material but the language is where the strength lies, a character described as "overlooked washing-up", of Martinis that "fairly whistles through the rigging", describing a dip rabble as having that "dreadful rinsed-out look which comes from Conferences", asking someone to take that "beastly sensual smile" off their face, and so on. Usually, for me, Lawrence is a much more poised writer. Apart from, The Black Book, and including this one, is Lawrence gallivanting across the page to entertain through quips and turns of phrase.