Outrageous, irreverent and politically incorrect, a young Englishman copes with the French. The odd spelling as he phoneticizes the French accent takes a bit of getting used to but get passed that, for it really is very funny. The scenario of setting up English Tea Houses in Paris seems, in my mind, ridiculous from the start; in this author’s hands it’s crazy. Real chuckle aloud stuff.

Comparison: Bill Bryson, Peter Mayle, Tim Moore.
Similar this month: Tom Sharpe, Anthony Horowitz.

If you would like to read more books set in and around Paris, then go to the fabulous City-Lit Guide to Paris where you will find a plethora of titles featured.

Synopsis

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.

Reviews

'Edgier than Bryson, hits harder than Mayle.' The Times

‘Must have comedy-of-errors diary about being a Brit abroad.' Daily Mirror

‘This is the season's word-of-mouth must-have book for Francophiles and Francophobes alike...This comedy of errors has almost certainly done more for the Entente Cordiale than any of our politicians’ Daily Mail

About the Author

Before A Year in the Merde , Stephen Clarke had never written anything longer than a report on British coffee-drinking habits. Inspired partly by the culture shock on his arrival in Paris in September 2002, and partly by the enviable sales figures of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, Stephen started keeping a diary of his experiences. He turned the journal into a novel when Anglo-French relations were at their worst during the Iraq War of spring 2003. Stephen is still living in Paris with his French girlfriend and her lingerie collection. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation