A Year in the Merde (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
I don’t care what you think of the French. Read this book for your own personal well-being.
Feel the muscles in your face tighten as you chuckle at least once every page. Every so often a belly laugh with friends and family asking if you’re okay. Wipe away the tears and nod before snorting again at some pithy saying that strikes your fancy.
Finally something the French are good at besides food and wine. Laughter, the best medecine.
— PeteDescription
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.
About the Author
Stephen Clarke is a British journalist and the internationally bestselling author of A Year in the Merde and In the Merde for Love, which describe the misadventures of Paul West in France, and Talk to the Snail, a hysterical look at understanding the French. He himself has lived in France for twelve years.
Praise For…
“Highly entertaining…Clarke renders the flavor of life in Paris impeccably.” —Washington Post
“Call him the anti-Mayle. Stephen Clarke is acerbic, insulting, un-PC and mostly hilarious.” —San Francisco Chronicle.
“The antidote to Peter Mayle, this ‘almost-true memoir' will appeal equally to Francophobes and Francophiles.” —New York Post (4 stars)
“The book is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Like the best of British comedy, Merde is a comedy of errors…[with] great interlingual puns, a vivacious spirit and a playful attitude about the absurdities of a foreign culture.” —Rocky Mountain News
“Combines the gaffes of Bridget Jones with the boldness of James Bond… Clarke's sharp eye for detail and relentless wit make even the most quotidian task seem surreal.” —Publishers Weekly