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17th out of 268 books
—
285 voters
A Year in the Merde (Paul West #1)
Based on Stephen Clarke's own experiences and with names changed to "avoid embarrassment, possible legal action, and to prevent the author's legs being broken by someone in a Yves Saint Laurent suit," A Year in the Merde provides perfect entertainment for Francophiles and Francophobes alike.
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
May 2nd 2006
by Bloomsbury USA
(first published 2004)
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This started off so promisingly with snarky but charming British banter about France's little annoying idiosyncrasies that anyone who has spent any time in France can appreciate. The main character, a British twenty-something, chronicles his year living in France while working for a corrupt corporate sleaze bag who wants help marketing tea rooms in Paris. It turns out that the main character is also a sleaze bag AND a "whinge cow" as he so aptly dubs whiners. By the month of February I was so si...more
I couldn't help myself; this book absolutely cracked me up. That may be because the author's descriptions of countless strikes by trash collectors, public transportation workers, police officers, and journalists brought back fond memories of my own stay in France--during which I also stepped in a fair amount of merde. The audiobook was particularly good, with the dramatist's illustraions of the countless miscommunications between francophones and anglophones. The story line is about Paul West, a...more
This book is highly readable, the kind of thing that one could read from start to finish if one just had a few hours with nothing to do. However, this is the most positive thing I can say about this book. It's supposed be one of those screwball accounts of someone living in a foreign culture and the wacky mishaps he experiences, but mostly it's about a relatively uninteresting Englishman who tries much too hard at being funny, and who simply didn't bother to find out anything at all about how Fr...more
5 likes
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like
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Jul 27, 2008
Brian
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
francophiles, francophobes and everything inbetween.
Shelves:
own
I picked this up in the train station at Charles de Gaulle airport a few minutes before my flight was cancelled and I was forced to spend another day in Paris, almost a year ago. Tough life, right?
I never read it, though.
Don't know why, but last week I felt an urge to pick it up. Read it in about 26 hours, couldn't put it down.
If you have no knowledge of the French, France, or French it might not be terribly interesting. If, however, you've spent a significant portion of your life dealing with,...more
I never read it, though.
Don't know why, but last week I felt an urge to pick it up. Read it in about 26 hours, couldn't put it down.
If you have no knowledge of the French, France, or French it might not be terribly interesting. If, however, you've spent a significant portion of your life dealing with,...more
Takový francouzský Švejk. Kratší, zábavnější a vyjadřující se k dnešku. Tak jako u Švejka se vám hodí elementární znalost němčiny, užijete si četbu této knihy víc, pokud jste pochytili základy francouzštiny. Příběh je založen na konflikním britsko-francouzském vztahu. Pařížané, podle této informace, jenom jedí, stávkují a flirtují. Okořeněno sexuálními scénkami. Konec je poněkud slabší.
Docela by mě zajímalo, kolik z toho je autentický zážitek a kolik fabulace.
------citace--------
"My Tea Is Rich...more
Docela by mě zajímalo, kolik z toho je autentický zážitek a kolik fabulace.
------citace--------
"My Tea Is Rich...more
A YEAR IN THE MERDE is the almost-true account of the author’s adventures as an expat in Paris. Based loosely on his own experiences and with names changed to “avoid embarrassment, possible legal action and to prevent the author’s legs being broken by someone in a Yves Saint Laurent suit (or quite possibly, a Christian Dior skirt), ” A YEAR IN THE MERDE is the story of a Paul West, a 27-year-old Brit who is brought to Paris by a French company to open a chain of British “tea rooms.” He soon beco...more
1 like
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A Year in the Merde
I had high hopes for entertainment when I got this book, even though the colleague who lent it to me warned me that it might be a bit shallow. I like good-natured fun between European nationalities and there was, at times, just the right amount of facetiousness and snarky remarks to make me giggle, but the passages that had me roll my eyes in annoyance outweighed that by far. Our protagonist, Paul West, is such a bit too much enamoured with himself for my tastes. Yes, he does...more
I had high hopes for entertainment when I got this book, even though the colleague who lent it to me warned me that it might be a bit shallow. I like good-natured fun between European nationalities and there was, at times, just the right amount of facetiousness and snarky remarks to make me giggle, but the passages that had me roll my eyes in annoyance outweighed that by far. Our protagonist, Paul West, is such a bit too much enamoured with himself for my tastes. Yes, he does...more
This book was hilarious from cover to cover. But don't expect it to mind its manners. After the first few pages, you'll realize that you're spending a year in Paris with Monty Python. (After all, the prim and proper British are obviously in need of an outlet for all that blue-blooded repression. Going to France seems to do the trick, especially when they end up being hijacked by sexy French women intent on providing an "education.")
The premise is simple. Our hero, 27-year-old Paul West, is emplo...more
The premise is simple. Our hero, 27-year-old Paul West, is emplo...more
I just finished reading Peter Mayle's A Year In Provence, and since this book said it was the anti-Mayle, I wanted to give myself a balanced perspective.
Basically Stephen Clarke ends up portraying himself as a self centered nymphomaniac who complains his way through Paris, managing to get on the bad side of his boss, all while looking for his next decent lay. Trust me, by the end of this book I was bored and pissed off. Clarke is an Englishman who moves to Paris to consult for a company with on...more
Basically Stephen Clarke ends up portraying himself as a self centered nymphomaniac who complains his way through Paris, managing to get on the bad side of his boss, all while looking for his next decent lay. Trust me, by the end of this book I was bored and pissed off. Clarke is an Englishman who moves to Paris to consult for a company with on...more
Apparently all there is in France is sex and screwing. You are either having sex, screwing someone, or being screwed.
Paul West is an Englishman brought over to France to help a beef company open up a chain of English-style tea houses. However, his life in France sucks-he's constantly stepping into dog poop, every two seconds some sector of the french economy goes on strike, he can't do anything at all in his job because his co-workers cost more to fire than to keep on and they slack incredibly,...more
Paul West is an Englishman brought over to France to help a beef company open up a chain of English-style tea houses. However, his life in France sucks-he's constantly stepping into dog poop, every two seconds some sector of the french economy goes on strike, he can't do anything at all in his job because his co-workers cost more to fire than to keep on and they slack incredibly,...more
Audio book read by John Lee
This is a “true story” of one Brit’s experiences working for a French company in Paris in 2002-2003. Paul West is hired to open a chain of “typical” English tearooms in Paris. We quickly learn that he barely understands, let alone speaks French, he’s saddled with a team that isn’t at all enthusiastic about working on the project, and he can’t even seem to order a normal size cup of coffee. Still he manages to luck into a pretty good living situation – rooming with his...more
This is a “true story” of one Brit’s experiences working for a French company in Paris in 2002-2003. Paul West is hired to open a chain of “typical” English tearooms in Paris. We quickly learn that he barely understands, let alone speaks French, he’s saddled with a team that isn’t at all enthusiastic about working on the project, and he can’t even seem to order a normal size cup of coffee. Still he manages to luck into a pretty good living situation – rooming with his...more
Jul 25, 2011
Tori
added it
2005- I picked up this book thinking it was a true story, I put it down still thinking maybe author Stephen Clarke had drawn on his own life a bit. Maybe it was the cover quote which tipped me off, reading ""There are lots of French people who are not at all hypocritical, inefficient, treacherous, in tolerant, adulterous or incredibly sexy....They just didn't make it into my book."" C'mon, that has to make you at least crack a grin. (Except maybe if you're French). The author's alter ego, Paul W...more
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Instead of buying a book for my husband, which was the only reason I went to the bookstore(!), I found myself handing this one over to the chipper cashier. You see, the book I intended to buy was out of stock but some evil genius ruthlessly positioned the travel section on my way out of the store. Need I say more?
Actually, I will. I’ve bought this book twice already! The first time was for someone who I was trying to entice into the world of globetrotting. In an effort to show her the possibilit...more
Actually, I will. I’ve bought this book twice already! The first time was for someone who I was trying to entice into the world of globetrotting. In an effort to show her the possibilit...more
I saw this book around a lot in Paris, but everyone said it was awful, so I didn't read it until just now when someone gave it to me to get rid of. I figured I'd just read a chapter or so to see what it was like first, and the writing is definitely bad. It got less-bad toward the end, almost like he got in the swing and didn't bother to revise the beginning (which read like emails home), but maybe I got used to it.
I enjoyed it anyway. He takes situations that are frustrating and humiliating when...more
I enjoyed it anyway. He takes situations that are frustrating and humiliating when...more
This book is one of the best friends I have met recently. One of those friends you need because only they really understand you.
It is really funny and an very accurate portrait of French goofiness. I don't know how funny it would be to most people, but being an expat living in Paris, it is tear inducing funny. Just when you think you are alone floating in the french sea, something like this comes along and makes you realize you aren't alone. I can't wait to read his other books.
It is really funny and an very accurate portrait of French goofiness. I don't know how funny it would be to most people, but being an expat living in Paris, it is tear inducing funny. Just when you think you are alone floating in the french sea, something like this comes along and makes you realize you aren't alone. I can't wait to read his other books.
6 likes
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Aug 12, 2007
Julia S
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
francophobics
Never been to France? Never plan to go?
If you want a truly insulting, xenophobic experience of "French Culture" then read this book. Otherwise, you could run into the middle of the Champs Elysées and scream in your most loud, incomprehensible, slang English, "I THINK THIS COUNTRY SUCKS BUT I'D PREFER TO BE HERE INSULTING THE MOST STEREOTYPICAL CLICHES AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS RATHER THAN BACK AT HOME WHERE EVERYTHING IS ORDINARY AND BORING."
If you like it better at home, then go home.
If you want a truly insulting, xenophobic experience of "French Culture" then read this book. Otherwise, you could run into the middle of the Champs Elysées and scream in your most loud, incomprehensible, slang English, "I THINK THIS COUNTRY SUCKS BUT I'D PREFER TO BE HERE INSULTING THE MOST STEREOTYPICAL CLICHES AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS RATHER THAN BACK AT HOME WHERE EVERYTHING IS ORDINARY AND BORING."
If you like it better at home, then go home.
I read this book about a month and a half into my trip to Paris which came as a breath of fresh air in between the guidebooks, intellectual culinary reviews, and all of the other literature that fell into the "rose-colored glasses" symptoms usually exhibited when describing Paris. Well okay... instead of saying it was a "breath of fresh air" it might be more along the lines of a "fresh burst of flatulence in a crowded elevator".
Let's get one thing straight about Clarke's writing abilities first...more
Let's get one thing straight about Clarke's writing abilities first...more
This book was a riot to read. Some of it is literally "laugh out loud" and other parts are more of the smirk and giggle. The hero or anti-hero of the story is Paul West (or Paul Vest as some of the French say). He is a 27 year old Brit who was hired by a French food company to create a string of English tea rooms.
It seems the French really do like all things British, including the English language, even though outwardly they complain about it all. Paul was hired by the CEO of the French company...more
It seems the French really do like all things British, including the English language, even though outwardly they complain about it all. Paul was hired by the CEO of the French company...more
If you're into France and obnoxious unlikeable narrators, this is the book for you! I don't speak French and so struggled through some scenes, though these seemed to lessen as the narrator stayed in France. If this was meant as a device to keep me confused just like the narrator, then I suppose it's rather clever.
Otherwise the narrator is just annoying in his chase of French women and a cheap place to live. Somewhere in the middle he gets caught up in a confusing scheme that I never quite figure...more
Otherwise the narrator is just annoying in his chase of French women and a cheap place to live. Somewhere in the middle he gets caught up in a confusing scheme that I never quite figure...more
Once again Mariab has introduced me to a new international reading experience, this time the first volume of a partly fictional memoir by an Englishman hired to manage the start up of a chain of English tea rooms in Paris. Not only is the author/narrator comical, especially in his descriptions of French business policies, politics and people, he is ever on the prowl for the perfect French woman: apparently, there's no time that's not a good time for sex.
In a never ending rat race, the author rep...more
In a never ending rat race, the author rep...more
Jun 07, 2012
Terri Garrett
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Someone in to snarky British men
Shelves:
not-worth-finishing
This book inspired me to create a new bookshelf entitled: "not worth finishing". I RARELY start a book and don't finish it...and it was probably just my mind set of having several other books I preferred to read over this one...and the fact that this was a library book that I needed to return. Maybe if I were to give it another chance at some point I would feel differently.
Typically if I have a library book that is approaching the deadline, I will just sit down and bust through it. But, I just d...more
Typically if I have a library book that is approaching the deadline, I will just sit down and bust through it. But, I just d...more
I finally read the book (after seeing it in Waterstones for years and years).
I liked the humor and the characters (on a way that on the same time I didn't like the same characters). A nice refreshing read between my usual detectives and thrillers.
Some of the things in the book happened very clearly in 2003, but that doesn't make it less enjoyable.
If you like this book, or Bill Bryson, try any Ross O'Carroll-Kelly book you'll run to.
Those are funny - and a perfect definition for the word "dick li...more
I liked the humor and the characters (on a way that on the same time I didn't like the same characters). A nice refreshing read between my usual detectives and thrillers.
Some of the things in the book happened very clearly in 2003, but that doesn't make it less enjoyable.
If you like this book, or Bill Bryson, try any Ross O'Carroll-Kelly book you'll run to.
Those are funny - and a perfect definition for the word "dick li...more
Novel. If there is a genre called “chick lit,” then this one would probably be called “guy lit.” Main character is 30-something Brit Paul West who is head-hunted by a French businessman to help him start a chain of English tea shoppes in France. Once there, he faces the (as perceived by English and Americans) usual bureaucratic nonsense, the Gallic non-work ethnic of his colleagues, the comparatively overt sexuality of French women, and various other cultural foibles and misunderstandings (oh ye...more
As a French teacher, I adore anything French. While attending a university in central California, I was always asked, "Why are you a French major? Shouldn't you take Spanish?" Nothing against Spanish, but I was intrigued with French from the very beginning, mainly because it was uncommon and many people thought it was too hard to learn. Quite the opposite for me.
In this book, we follow Paul West, a young Brit businessman who is sent to Paris to open up some English tearooms. Paris isn't just kno...more
In this book, we follow Paul West, a young Brit businessman who is sent to Paris to open up some English tearooms. Paris isn't just kno...more
Dec 07, 2009
Jules
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who have visited Paris
I had been wanting to read this book for a good number of years. Firstly, due to a recommendation from a friend as just being a really funny book. And then when I visited Paris myself and my interest in the city grew. But then more recently when french friends (non-Parisians) started telling me that really, Paris isn't the romantic, classy city I make it out to be.
I'm glad I waited so long to read this book actually, because I feel like I have appreciated it a lot more than I would have, having...more
I'm glad I waited so long to read this book actually, because I feel like I have appreciated it a lot more than I would have, having...more
A whimsical book on a Brit living in Paris. There are three themes in this story. The satire of an Englishman adjusting to Parisian life with a country house thrown in, his amorous adventures with libidinous young women, and an intrigue of sordid business and political deals.
The first one – the satire worked well and kept me reading. There are equally amusing observations on French and British life. The other two areas – the amorous encounters and the intrigue were less successful and seemed the...more
The first one – the satire worked well and kept me reading. There are equally amusing observations on French and British life. The other two areas – the amorous encounters and the intrigue were less successful and seemed the...more
The first 1/4 to 1/3 of the book is extremely clever and will have anyone passingly familiar with the French in danger of laughing themselves into a hernia. Clarke nails the quirky French personality (the oh-so-expressive shrug; how their pronunciation of English makes it an unrecognizable language; the public servants' laissez-faire attitude). I howled in recognition when his character -- under duress -- speaks French by dropping all verbs. However, the dual plots -- that of a young British mal...more
A funny light read about a fictional British guy's life for a year in Paris after he is hired by this company to start up a series of tea shops. Along the way he has to contend with the idiosyncracies of actually working in the City of Lights, along with trying to fit into its social norms of sex and relationships. Its a light hearted quick read with many amusing anecdotes and doesn't succomb to the tendency of similar books where the author develops a sense of superiority over the culture in wh...more
I started listening to this book sometime in November 2008 and didn't resume until a couple weeks ago when I didn't have another audio book to occupy me while working out. I remember thinking the first half was pretty funny, but didn't find the second half as amusing. If Stephen Clarke was telling you his tales of living and working in France, you would definitely say, "Haha--You should write a book!" He has some interesting and often amusing encounters, and a witty way of telling about them, bu...more
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“If they wanted their shit stirred, then stirred their shit was jolly well going to be.”
—
49 people liked it
“I was also sick of my neighbors, as most Parisians are. I now knew every second of the morning routine of the family upstairs. At 7:00 am alarm goes off, boom, Madame gets out of bed, puts on her deep-sea divers’ boots, and stomps across my ceiling to megaphone the kids awake. The kids drop bags of cannonballs onto the floor, then, apparently dragging several sledgehammers each, stampede into the kitchen. They grab their chunks of baguette and go and sit in front of the TV, which is always showing a cartoon about people who do nothing but scream at each other and explode. Every minute, one of the kids cartwheels (while bouncing cannonballs) back into the kitchen for seconds, then returns (bringing with it a family of excitable kangaroos) to the TV. Meanwhile the toilet is flushed, on average, fifty times per drop of urine expelled. Finally, there is a ten-minute period of intensive yelling, and at 8:15 on the dot they all howl and crash their way out of the apartment to school.” (p.137)”
—
12 people liked it
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