Antrobus Complete

Antrobus stories #1-3

by Lawrence Durrell

Twenty-nine stories recount the amusing anecdotes of Antrobus, a career diplomat for the British Foreign Office

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Short Stories, Classics

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Lawrence George Durrell was a critically hailed and beloved novelist, poet, humorist, and travel writer best known for The Alexandria Quartet novels, which were ranked by the Modern Library as among the greatest works of English literature in the twentieth century. A passionate and dedicated writer from an early age, Durrell’s prolific career also included the groundbreaking Avignon Quintet, whose first novel, Monsieur (1974), won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and whose third novel, Constance (1982), was nominated for the Booker Prize. He also penned the celebrated travel memoir Bitter Lemons of Cyprus (1957), which won the Duff Cooper Prize. Durrell corresponded with author Henry Miller for forty-five years, and Miller influenced much of his early work, including a provocative and controversial novel, The Black Book (1938). Durrell died in France in 1990.

The time Lawrence spent with his family, mother Louisa, siblings Leslie, Margaret Durrell, and Gerald Durrell, on the island of Corfu were the subject of Gerald's memoirs and have been filmed numerous times for TV.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1985, the year I entered the US Foreign Service, I read and enjoyed this book. Rediscovered as I unpack, after more than 20 years as a US Diplomat, I reread the book and frightened the cat, cracked a rib, and almost choked by guffawing laughter. Informed by my experiences, the pleasure of reading this has mega quadrupled.

Durrell is a great writer. I think even non dips would enjoy this. It is tho a perfect gift to give to a friend retiring from the Foreign Service of any country.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reminded of this charming little set of humorous stories by Lawrence Durrell recently, featuring Antrobus, a British diplomat stationed in what I think were the Balkans. All of the stories are funny but some of them uproariously so. I will have to dig out a copy to read them again.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our headmaster read this to us when we were about 11 and it had us in stitches. It still gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. The style makes it appealing to a wide audience.

[foundfoundfound · Rating 4 out of 5]

adventures in english stiff upper-lippery abroad. preserving the pin stripes at all costs. very funny.

[José Luis Valenciano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990), hermano del zoólogo y también escritor Gerald Durrell, tuvo una vida ciertamente movida y cosmopolita desde su nacimiento en India hasta su fallecimiento en francia. Vivió junto con su madre y hermanos en Corfú desde 1935 hasta la caida de Grecia en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, cuando huyó via Creta hasta la egipcia Alejandría. Durante esa época y con posterioridad a la guerra desempeñó cargos de agregado de prensa en embajadas británicas, entre ella la de Belgrado, que le servirían de material para posteriores relatos.
Si bien su obra más conocida es el Cuarteto de Alejandría, escrito entre 1957 y 1960, su capacidad para el relato corto sazonado del mejor británico queda patente en Antrobus, una selección de cuentos provenientes de tres libros suyos. El hilo conductor de la novela es un diplomático del Foreign Office británico, Antrobus, quien relata anécdotas de su carrera en países comunistas tras el Telón de Acero, especialmente la Yugoslavia de Tito; país que conocía muy bien por haber sido destinado allí varios años durante el periodo inmediatamente posterior a la ruptura de Tito con la URSS estalinista.
Cuanto hay de real y cuanto de invención en sus relatos queda a la imaginación del lector, pero me atrevo a apostar que, por absurdas que parezcan algunas situaciones, ocurrieron realmente y fueron cubiertas por un pacto no escrito de callar hasta la muerte, por pura vergüenza. El slivovice, bebida fermentada de ciruela tremendamente popular en la zona y de alta graduación alcohólica, puede haber contribuido un poco. También el mundo de la diplomacia tiene una vertiente menos glamurosa.

[Jim Puskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A piece of terribly British drollery. Each of the 30 stories places one or another of the characters front and center, along with a few jibes sending up the more amusing peculiarities of the various nations encountered, and the respective diplomatic missions that represent them. Durrell had the rare ability, by means of effortless hyperbole, to submit his characters to gentle ridicule without ever causing offense. It's a style of humor that seemed, somewhat surprisingly, to thrive in mid-20th century in spite of that era's dire upheavals including (in this cases) the Cold War. Other writers of the period such as Don Marquis, Stephen Leacock who were blessed with this facility come to mind. It's a style of humor sadly lacking today.

[Matt Ely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a case where perhaps the reader humor inspires an "ah yes, quite funny that" rather than a laugh proper. The fact that I'm not British, not a bureaucrat, and not born before the second world war also works against me. Still, the stories are brief and the characters are well drawn. There are a few passages that don't age too well, but the author mitigates that somewhat by his magnanimity toward the cast. Everyone has a moment to shine; everyone is the butt of the joke. Except Antrobus of course, so confident in his propriety that the reader can get some joy imagining how he comes off himself.

Ultimately, it's more interesting to this about the book and its characters than it is to read the stories themselves. But you've got to do one to get the other, so I'm ultimately glad I did.

[Hotaru · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars. A series of short stories (with more than a grain of truth in them, at least in the first part) about UK diplomatic life abroad.

A lot of hilarious moments, but unfortunately the quality of the read declined as I went through the book (I gather it compiles several publications by Durrell, not all of the same level of craftmanship). Durrell should have stuck with the believable (even when bordering on the absurd) stories of diplomatic flounders, instead of veering towards the frankly supernatural (a soul-possessing cat reigning supreme in the Embassy and sending its own dispatches ? really?). But maybe I'm just biased, as a (French) diplomat myself.

Still well worth the read! My parents loved it and are not dips, so everybody can give it a go.

[Alfonso de Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

¨La cultura se contagia como la viruela. Y una cosa así podría obligar a todo el mundo a obrar de modo extraño en breve plazo. Toda cultura corrompe, amigo mío; pero la cultura francesa corrompe absolutamente.¨
Pues eso, una lectura ácida y divertida, unos cuentos muy cortos, que se leen con una facilidad muy agradable, nada que ver con su famoso Cuarteto, y en absoluto políticamente correctos.
Definitivamente muy recomendable.

[Burnaby Hawkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sadly, Durrell's Antrobus has long been forgotten by the literary community--although he is one of the most memorable fictional characters a reader can ever encounter. Personally, I was not even aware Durrell was capable of so much humor. Very, very, very highly recommended as a lighthearted literary read.

[Colin]

Just gonna file this one under “I guess you had to be there.”

[Lucia Cargnel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy divertido!

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! And I had thought it was Greald who was the funny one of the brothers. Both, it turns out, are.

[Ajesh Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious!

[Marina Pardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buen regalo de mi amiga Aranx

[Toni Padilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los libros más divertidos que he leído. Lawrence Durrell demostró tener el mismo buen humor que su hermano Gerald en sus relatos sobre las vicisitudes del cuerpo diplomático británico. Una fauna de funcionarios ineptos que casi provocan guerras con sus meteduras de pata.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Lawrence Durrell needs no introduction as the celebrated author of the superb Alexandria Quartet. Yet those already familiar with the transcendent novels, Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea, and with the superlative travel writing found in Bitter Lemons, Prospero's Cell and Reflections on a Marine Venus, may have missed the enchanting follies perpetrated by Mr. Durrell in these two uproarious books, now for the first time combined in one low-priced volume. In each of these twenty jeux d'esprit the author draws upon his intimate knowledge of life in the "Dip Corps" to regale his readers with the hazards and highjinks of Life among the Diplomats."
~~back cover

A charming book, if a bit dated. The style of humor is similar to that of P.G. Wodehouse, but as the subject matter is a bit unfamiliar (at least to Americans) the humor is a bit harder to enjoy.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was attracted to read Durrell due to what I heard about his friendship with Henry Miller and the inspiration Miller led to his works. So, I expected something intelligent and raw; salacious and affecting. What I got was a collection of three-page short stories inspired by post-World War I foreign office service with a humor between P.G. Wodehouse and "Mr. Bean".

[Pietro Micaroni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho letto una vecchia edizione italiana. Si tratta di umorismo inglese, snob e molto datato, però riesce a far divertire ed è una lettura leggera e poco impegnativa. Si racconta della disavventure degli sventurati del corpo diplomatico inglese di stanza nei paesi dell'est Europa, allora comunisti, figurarsi. Traspare a volta anche un pizzico di razzismo, ma ripeto, riesce a far divertire.

[icaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

very british, very british humor, very british, diplomatic, humor. Su una spiaggia, d'estate, rinfresca l'aria e fa crescere baffi sotto i quali sogghignare adeguatamente mentre il vicino di sdraio pensa che non abbiamo tutte le rotelle a posto...

[Mills College Library]

Fiction D965a 1989

[Emilio Apestegui · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Adz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful stuff, l’d imagine PG Wodehouse would’ve enjoyed this collection.

[Eliszard · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest books I've ever read.

[Maria Vieira · Rating 4 out of 5]

very soft.

[N · Rating 1 out of 5]

Humoristisk ment bok som desverre ikke er morsom

[Paru Paru · Rating 5 out of 5]

British humour at its best ..meandering experiences from the foreign office.

[J B Murray]

Faultless

Humour that is as fresh as Mandeville,s cup of dew.
An antidote for all that is flung your way.
A book that will stand repeat readings.