Stephen Clarke

An entertaining memoir of the author's adventures and experiences as an expatriate living in Paris describes the life and times of a young British man brought to Paris by a French company to open a chain of British tea rooms, detailing his dealings with lazy French employees, a scheming boss, lusty girlfriends, and French culture. Reprint.

A Year in the Merde

Haritlak Thawikasikam

Jeannette Ordas

While this was a quick read, the main character was an unlikable, misogynist asshole.

Paul West, a young Englishman, arrives in Paris to start a new job - and finds out what the French are really like. They do eat a lot of cheese, some of which smells like pigs' droppings. They don't wash their armpits with garlic soap. Going on strike really is the second national participation sport after pétanque. And, yes, they do use suppositories. In his first novel, Stephen Clarke gives a laugh-out-loud account of the pleasures and perils of being a Brit in France. Less quaint than A Year in Provence, less chocolatey than Chocolat, A Year in the Merde will tell you how to get served by the grumpiest Parisian waiter; how to make perfect vinaigrette every time; how to make amour - not war; and how not to buy a house in the French countryside.

Sarah Escorsa

This book is very irritating... I read it yesterday afternoon while on the ferry to Ibiza and although I did smile a few times, I really didn't appreciate Clarke's writing. I can't quite understand what bothered me about this book... Clarke does make an accurate description of some very French characteristics (Kafkaian bureaucracy, strikes, the addiction to medicine & doctors...)but at the same time, I found the book very superficial. I think Clarke would definitely be better as a stand-up comedian than as a writer...

Despite what the Times review says, I like writers such as Peter Mayle & Tony Hawks much better. I found their books funny, well-written and in the end, more enjoyable than this one.

Published privately by the author in English in Paris, A YEAR IN THE MERDE became an immediate local bestseller. Instant word-of-mouth spread like wildfire to England where booksellers began clamouring for it. Now Stephen Clarke's delightful first novel will be rush-published officially in the UK to meet the ever-growing demand of fans. In A YEAR IN THE MERDE Stephen Clarke describes the French as they really are. They're not cheese-eating surrender monkeys, but they do eat a lot of cheese, some of which smells like pigs' droppings. In general, they do not wash their armpits with garlic soap. They are still in shock at being stupid enough to sell Louisiana and thereby losing the chance to make French the global language. Going on strike really is the second national participation sport after petanque. And they really do use suppositories.Paul West, a young Englishman, arrives to set up some English tea-rooms in Paris and gives a laugh-out-loud account of the pleasures and perils of being a Brit in France. Less quaint than A Year in Provence, less chocolatey than Chocolat, this book will tell you how to get the best of the grumpiest Parisian waiter, how to survive French meetings,

my_bookalicious

Book was funny and but not all jokes were my cup of tea.

window

This guy comes across as super shallow and basically spends all of his available free time (and a good portion of his work time) trying to figure out how to get in the pants of every woman he is remotely attracted to, including his new co-workers. This is like reading the bio of a self-indulgent immature frat boy's "gap year". I DNF'ed it about 20% of the way in -this was just too cringey. Hard pass.

A Year in the Merde

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