While this isn't laugh out loud funny it does bring a smile to your face and a gentle reminder why we love France. We get to watch the lead character, Paul west, slowly become "almost French" while making fun of all those things so typically French. If you love, or for that matter hate, France, I think you'll find reading this an enjoyable experience.

This novel is uneven. There are admittedly some very funny moments and quite accurate comments (I know what I am talking about, I am French). But the plot is superficial and the second half of the book, where it is meant to unfold, is rather uninteresting. The first part of the book would have been better as a mere list of funny remarks about the French. Furthermore, the main character, Paul West, is annoyingly contemptuous of the French about whom for seems to show no curiosity whatsoever (besides satisfying his libido with French women - Clarke does not avoid the cliche who are depicting them as mere sluts). After an entire year, the only thing he manages to learn is how to order a cup of coffee in a French cafe. This contempt and total lack of curiosity do not fit well with the insight and understanding Paul West pretends to have acquired regarding French society (politics, strikes etc.). Indeed, this pseudo-insight is in fact very shallow and shows a disapoingly low level of understanding of French society on the part of the author.

This book will have you laughing out loud. The adventures of a British man working in France, who knew this could be so comical. Along the way there are a few trysts, miscommunications, and tons of merde. LOL! Definitely exaggerated, but who is to say that some of it could not really happen.
Read it and you will see how funny it is.

This book will have you laughing out loud. The adventures of a British man working in France, who knew this could be so comical. Along the way there are a few trysts, miscommunications, and tons of merde. LOL! Definitely exaggerated, but who is to say that some of it could not really happen.
Read it and you will see how funny it is.

Sadly, this is a book that falls victim to misleading advertising. The title and book description would lead one to assume this to be a travel memoir about our hero's experiences trying to get a chain of British tea rooms off the ground in France.
If you buy, or as I (fortunately) did, borrow the book from your library it won't take you long to come to the conclusion that in an attempt to make the book saleable and "real" the thing is written less as a travel memoir and more as a sexual misadventure. For, in truth the main recurring theme of this book is the narrator's failed attempts to bed women...any women...women he barely knows and for whom he doesn't care.

Now that's fine and I'm sure the hero of A Year In The Merde is not the first, nor will he be the last fella to go to France with getting laid as his main goal in life.

This goal is, however, not universally endearing, and is in fact quite off putting for a large number of the reading public...like the female reading public---quite a lot of those out there actually.

His constant attempts to prey upon people for sex are not endearing, not charming, and worst of all...not entertaining.
Last time I looked guys in their teens and early twenties weren't the major audience stampeding to buy stories about life for expats living in France.
Yes, there are insights into the French, but they are incidental and largely overshadowed by nearly continuous comments about women and their undergarments, lack of undergarments, attractiveness, and willingness to bed the narrator.
Casting a humorous light on the French people or the French culture is secondary.
Since my interest in France is NOT primarily focused on scoring with chicks...I was disappointed. Depending upon your interest, your mileage may vary.

Not a page turner by any means, but laugh out loud funny! I really enjoyed this book, took my time reading it, and am rather sad it's over... :)

A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke is an uproarious roman à clef following a year in the life of Clarke's alter ego, Paul West. Paul West is a Brit who has been transplanted to the City of Light to help a French businessman open English tea shops throughout Paris. Paul's struggles to understand and master all things French, including the French work ethic of his colleagues (which places more importance on vacation planning than on anything truly work related); the confusing manner in which the real estate market operates; and the most perplexing thing about France - French women, will have you laughing throughout the entire book.

Besides being a humorous account of French assimilation, A Year in the Merde is also an insightful look at how the French view British and American citizens. Clarke is especially discerning when recounting the start of the American led Iraq war.

As the inside flap of the book says, "This book is for everyone who can never quite decide whether they love - or love to hate - the French".

I love every one of Stephen Clarke's books. I have never laughed so hard reading. Looking forward to getting his newest. I wish these books would also go to the big screen. Hugh Grant?

I love every one of Stephen Clarke's books. I have never laughed so hard reading. Looking forward to getting his newest. I wish these books would also go to the big screen. Hugh Grant?

This is loads of fun, I'll grant you. I happen to love British wit, so what could beat an English author griping about his time among the frogs? The French do not come off well. Curiously, I had never seen this side of them. Clarke essentially captures a petty, almost tribal narrowness which I had never before associated with the French, but rings absolutely right. Especially when the French girlfriend calls things off over politics - this is so American radicals of the 60s, and it is totally believable as a French pose of self-importance. The nonsense over the tea shops is silly but very revealing, too. Anyway, the memoir is amusing if finally a bit tiresome. Actually, the entire premise of his stay seemed weird and somehow bogus. The graphic romance seems a little adolescent to me - maybe the author has something to prove. Although the French gals do come across as totally lacking in Anglo-American primness. His shock is fun, but so is his unabashed joy in finding such easy women. This is a real case of so close but so far. Highly recommended.

Clarke's main character, Paul West, enters French society with an eye for detail but also a chip on his shoulder. The sort of silly good luck that befalls him makes the book an interesting exercise in wishful thinking that is a bit of a disconnect with the pull-no-punches reality with which French society is portrayed. The odd juxtaposition was, unfortunately, the most lasting impression I was left with afterward.

The central character 'Paul West' has been headhunted by a company in Paris - his mission - to market and oversee the development of a chain of English Tea Houses. Little did he know that the 'City of Love' (in it's own unique way) was expecting him. Like countless thousands who came before him, Paul encountered the frustrations of french culture.

An hilarious romp. Stephen Clarke writes in a smooth and entertaining way transporting us to a place deep in the heart of Paris. There is something here for everyone including romance, deception, espionage, and lots of 'merde'.

In March, I read A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke which is a slightly exaggerated account of the Englishman Clarke's year in France to open a set of British tea shops. I have not laughed so hard and so often while reading a book as I did during the first quarter of this one. The entire thing is brilliant, but the opening scenes and the language miscommunications are laugh-out-loud funny and it sheds a strange strange light on life in Paris. An excerpt:

"My good friend Chris told me not to come to France. Great lifestyle, he said, great food, and totally un-politically correct women with great underwear. His theory was that the French are like the woman scorned. Back in 1940, they tried to tell us they loved us but we just laughed at their accents and their big-nosed General de Gaulle, and ever since we've done nothing but poison them with our disgusting food and try to wipe the French language off the face of the earth. That's why they built refugee camps yards from the Eurotunnel entrance and refuse to eat our beef years after it was declared safe. It's permanent payback time, he said. Don't go there. Sorry, I told him, I've got to check out that underwear."

Paul West starts his one year contract in Paris. Every French person knows that the work year does not start in January, but in September. September is when Parisians get back to their desks and when every new project from a new hairdo to a nuclear power plant gets under way. So at 900 AM on September 1st, Paul West was standing a hundred yards from the Champs-Elysees. West is about to begin a new job and what catches his attention is that there are people about him who are kissing. Somehow he finds his new employer's building.

Paul West has come to Paris to admire un-politically correct women with great underwear. No, no. Actually West has been brought to Paris to help open a chain of British tea rooms. It's just that West is 27 and has raging hormones and has not gotten past the first chapter of a Berlitz course on French. One would think from the adept way that he handled the initial meeting with his staff that West might not spend a year in the merde.

But West knows how to commit a faux pas. First there is Christine who is about to marry someone else. Then there was Alexa. How does a guy impress a girl when complaining about doggie merde? Then there is the boss's daughter who invites West to share her apartment. Of course, one morning the boss arrives to visit his daughter and finds West. And then the daughter walks out of her bedroom wearing next to nothing.

Didn't West take a job to open British tea rooms and not to chase babes? Do babes and tea rooms mix? Yes, they do in the clever resolution of this novel by Stephen Clarke.

This book is a memoir of a British man hired by a French company to develop a chain of English Tea Shops. We are taken through the first year of the author's relocation to France and his emersion in the French "culture", dating scene, work ethic, food, politics and corruption.
It's hard to rate this book because I find myself in the unusual situation of enjoying the book but not really liking it's author! I hope Stephen Clarke just looks old for his age in the photo on the book jacket, because youth can be the only acceptable excuse for his attitude throughout his stay in France. Or maybe it's just a British thing, the sarcastic, critical view of every person, place, thing and experience this man has. To go to France and spend a good part of the book making fun of the way many French speak English and paint us a picture of himself walking to work each day with plastic bags on his feet because he can't seem to avoid stepping in all the dog "merde" along the way, is funny, yes, but also annoying and a bit offensive. And don't get me started on his attitude toward women! If he was any older than mid twenties during his experience, he needs some therapy. Yet I give it 4 stars because I couldn't put it down and it made me laugh.

I opened this book expecting it to be...well "merde." But surprisingly this book was hard to put down. Not only was it funny on several different levels (some stupid, some ridiculous, and some political), the plot kept me intrigued and left me wanting to read the sequel.

If you have ever traveled extensively throughout France or had the chance to live there for any amount of time like I have you will be splitting your sides over the humor Stephen Clarke brings to all the situation his main character Paul West finds himself in because it is all true and you will more than likely have experienced it yourself. This should be on the list for all students who are going to live in France. A humorous look on all real-to-life situations abroad. All and all this book was tons of fun!

Be prepared not to take the book seriously and just enjoy the ride! The Paris experience could not be captured with more humor, and though it's not for children, the book is very charming. It's also filled with enough details of Parisian culture that it can prepare you for the Merde you're about to enter, or, if you are already in, at least give you a good laugh about it.

Stephen Clarke's pseudo-memoir is worth the price simply as a sociological document - cross-cultural exchanges and misunderstandings have never been funnier, and the book is at its best when it explores these, particularly through conversation, probably no more so than in Paul's first meeting with his new co-workers.

Clarke's writing, though consistently funny and completely readable, occasionally shows signs of effort. The frequent attempts at witticism, which he attempts to pin down as some kind of melange of Monty Python and Oscar Wilde, almost always feel forced and are incongruous with the rest of the book's easy sense of humor.

Equally out of place is Clarke's constant insistence on his lead character's prodigious sexual prowess. While there's no denying that the "stranger in a strange land" feel of a book meant to immerse the outsider in the oddities of French culture would be conspicuously incomplete without an exploration of sexual mores, the depiction of Paul West's sex life seems to miss this point most of the time. These parts of the book (of which there are far too many, for what they are) read to me more as Clarke assaulting the reader's subconscious in order to convince us of his own libido (I found this even more distracting given that Clarke is writing for a supposedly semi-autobiographical character who is half his age). It is only here that Clarke's personal history intrudes unwelcomed into the novel's usual fluidity.

Finally, the impossible way in which the story ties itself up in the last twenty pages or so is impossibly rushed and almost comically neat; besides, the story isn't what's to like about the book in the first place. But this is still a mostly intelligently written, genuinely funny novel, worth it for anyone willing to laugh at the cultural cold war which is constantly being waged around the world, and on which the French wrote the book.

Stephen Clarke's pseudo-memoir is worth the price simply as a sociological document - cross-cultural exchanges and misunderstandings have never been funnier, and the book is at its best when it explores these, particularly through conversation, probably no more so than in Paul's first meeting with his new co-workers. Clarke's writing, though consistently funny and completely readable, occasionally shows signs of effort. The frequent attempts at witticism, which he attempts to pin down as some kind of melange of Monty Python and Oscar Wilde, almost always feel forced and are incongruous with the rest of the book's easy sense of humor. Equally out of place is Clarke's constant insistence on his lead character's prodigious sexual prowess. While there's no denying that the "stranger in a strange land" feel of a book meant to immerse the outsider in the oddities of French culture would be conspicuously incomplete without an exploration of sexual mores, the depiction of Paul West's sex life seems to miss this point most of the time. These parts of the book (of which there are far too many, for what they are) read to me more as Clarke assaulting the reader's subconscious in order to convince us of his own libido (I found this even more distracting given that Clarke is writing for a supposedly semi-autobiographical character who is half his age). It is only here that Clarke's personal history intrudes unwelcomed into the novel's usual fluidity. Finally, the impossible way in which the story ties itself up in the last twenty pages or so is impossibly rushed and almost comically neat; besides, the story isn't what's to like about the book in the first place. But this is still a mostly intelligently written, genuinely funny novel, worth it for anyone willing to laugh at the cultural cold war which is constantly being waged around the world, and on which the French wrote the book.

I initially avoided this book, put off by some of the negative reviews saying the author seemed like a frat boy who only wants to shag women. But after yet another English friend recommended it to me, and I trust his judgement, I decided to give it a try. I'm American living in France so I was a bit suspicious but at the same time optimistic.

Holy crap! I can't tell you how hard I laughed. On the train to & from work each day, I couldn't help but bust out laughing. And if you've taken the commuter trains in France you'll know they are as silent as a library. People would look at me and look down to see what I was reading. I am probably responsible for several sales in the past week.

The people giving it bad reviews are most likely women and/or uptight people who were never really wild in their youth. I do think the author could have toned down the sex and crude jokes but why ruin it for the rest of us? This book is clearly written for guys (and women who like to party).

Finally I want to say the author's writing style is brilliant. I wasn't expecting that. He is a great storyteller and I'm going to go order the rest of his books..

I'm french, I lived in england, in the states and in canada. Just don't take that book seriously, it's not its purpose! I Laughed so much reading it! Everything is more or less true, exagerated most of the time but living and working now in paris I can relate to so many situations. Looking for appartements, the useless meetings, the parisians waiters...

Anyway, this is not classical litterature, this is not a travel book, it's just a fun book to read and sometimes offer. I offered mine to a american friends who's never been to france she was laughing so loud she was crying!

Just take it for what it is; a fun book.

Don't read this book in public (I read it on a long-haul flight), you'll burst out laughing and won't be able to stop. It is one of the funniest book i have read in the last 2 years, and I am French!

("Merde" means shit in French) A VERY funny bk. It tells the story of the 1st year of an Englishman (not spkg much French) working in Paris - how he dealt with the arrogant Parisians, rented an apt, dealt with his cunning boss and strikes of various kinds in Paris, and dated diff French women. The author is good at writing in a humorous way. It has a sequel "Merde Actually".

After many weeks working in France, much of the first half of this book was very relatable to my own experience. The next half is less impressive, largely because it becomes less realistic, but still worth skimming through for the one or two good bits.

Who would like this book? Anyone who finds it amusing that "A Year in the Merde" was translated to "God Save La France" to title the French-language version, or any French person wanting to understand an outsider's first impression, although much of the humor may be lost to the latter. I haven't read the French version, but cannot imagine how a translation could do this book any justice.

Wonderful book. Very funny, intelligent and informative. I look forward to reading Stephen Clarke's other books.

This book is excellent. I actually read the sequel first (which is also wonderful!) and then serached or this one. It certainly didn't let me down and kept me laughing throughout. Stephen Clarke writes beautifully and his depiction of French life, especially from the viewpoint of a foreigner, is right on target!

If you're familiar with Peter Mayle's works this parody is hysterical. I've traveled thoughout England and this is really how they see the French. A great travel book.

I picked up this book on a whim while I was in France. Luckily the local FNAC had this to offer and I'm so glad I bought it. I couldn't put it down I was laughing the whole time. It helped that I was in France at the time because it pointed out actual things that I had noticed and was going through. I love France, French is my major and I don't think its mean-spirited at all, just sarcastic. I enjoyed it an I'm certain most others will, as long as you can take a joke.

year in the merde not only was a funny story, but it also gave us a glimpse of what it is like to be french...high taxes, job security (HE HE)and lots of strikes...dont get me wrong, i love france..to visit..not to live there...

year in the merde not only was a funny story, but it also gave us a glimpse of what it is like to be french...high taxes, job security (HE HE)and lots of strikes...dont get me wrong, i love france..to visit..not to live there...

I don't recommend this book for readers with any significant exposure to French culture and history.I was intrigued by the title of the book and a report by a friend of mine who flipped through this book at the bookshop. I picked it up based on her suggestion and some online reviews. I didn't make it through the fourth chapter. The book trades in low-level comedy surrounding basic differences and stereotypes etc: fashion and style, work hours, kissing, etc. I suppose I was looking for more sophisticated comedy surrounding real differences like fatalism and grand projects etc. I just couldn't get into it - too much cringing.

Oone of the worst books I've started reading in quite a while. I didn't finish. How did this become a best seller? He shouts "look at how funny I am" and he's not. He shouts "look how strange and/or incompetent and/or incomprehensible the French are" without convincing me -- he's just another slagging Brit whingeing Pom. He also brags about all the girls he shags, and I don't care. It is, to go for the obvious here, merde.

This book was recommended to me by a friend before I moved to Paris and I am so disappointed that I didn't read it until after I got here and got settled.

Clarke weaves a hilarious tale of a 20's something Englishman who tries to make his way in Paris as a new resident...and hilarity ensues!

Clarke tells stories that seem too wild to be true, but they are hilarious because of their applicability to the reality of life in Paris.

I recommend this as an amazing, engaging and exciting read to any AngloSaxon about to relocate to Paris or anyone up for a good laugh.

I expected the book to be an entertaining look into life in Paris, but was disappointed when it was just the author's way of writing down his sexual fantasies. Not only is the narrator a shallow mess, but Clarke never does anything to develop him. Expect to find ridiculous sexual exploits that one finds on a bad episode of Desperate Housewives. It starts out good and then just collapses into awful novel writing. Truly a bad purchase.

I'm now workin in France and I bought this book and the other one "talk to the snail", A year in the merde gave me a overview of how's the life in France through the eyes of Brit. When I start to work in France now, everytime when I have the conversations with French no matter at work or daily life, I will remember some pieces of stories in this book and it make me smile. Recommended this...if you want to have a better understanding of French people and the life in France.

I simply don't get the poor reviews! This book is absolutely HILARIOUS! The title, naturally, is a parody of "A Year in Provence" (right down to the font style, I believe.)
It is humour, pure and simple. Yes, the characters are cliche and the book is rampant with stereotypes, but so what? Every stereotype contains a grain of truth. The author has a keen understanding of the nuances of the Parisian reality.
Thank you for some truly great entertainment! This was one of my beach reads this summer. It was a welcome change from a stack of thrillers and mysteries.

I bought this book awhile ago, inexplicably moving it to the bottom of my unread book pile in favour of other books. I just never felt in the mood for it. Rather interesting book outside my normal genre of reading. So, this weekend when I was bored out of my skull, I finally decided to give it a try.

I have to admire the book for the cover quote "There are lots of French people who not at all hypocritical, inefficient, treacherous, intolerant, adulterous or incredibly sexy.... They just didn't make it into my book." That's a brutally up front statement, and yet it's very indicative of the book's attitude. And that isn't a bad thing because that's what makes it such an enjoyable read. Is it a work of art? No. But if you know the English and you know the French this book is going to really tickle your funny bone and hold your interest. If you don't know the French or English much of this book might just sail right by you. Much of the joy comes from having experienced (for example) the brasserie waiters, the French strikes, the English unflapability, and seeing them forced together.

If you're not sure if it's up your alley, perhaps you should try the paperback. This book is many things, but happily n'est ce pas merdique :)

I guess I didn't get it. Parts were funny then it got a little tedious. Read it if you think you'll get it.

My wife and I, both of whom are French nationals living in Canada, were laughing out loud throughout the book.

It does a great job making fun of innumerable French foibles (a good deal of which consist of thinking that Civilization, decency, and common sense end at the French borders). Paul West, the main character _is_ a bit sophomoric and somewhat obsessed with girls (not all Parisiennes are nymphos but I will forgive him that overgeneralization). And, yes, the story isn't, quite, War and Peace, but it is good enough for its purpose, which is to carry the jokes and criticisms. Besides their funny side, some of the criticisms concern things that are really serious problems in France (strikes, racism, public sector entitlements, lack of new politicians), even if they are presented lightly.

That said, I think the humor will best be appreciated by someone who has lived in France for a while. Just having been there on a short vacation does not count. If you can't relate to day to day life in France, the book loses much of its appeal, is just critical, and you are left with a rather lightweight story.

Also skip if:

- you happen to be French and deprived of a sense of humor

- you are looking for any kind of serious analysis.

- you are an Ann Coulter fan. Much too subtle for you and Paul actually likes some aspect of France.

Enjoyable read, but a bit misleading by the publisher. It's labelled as "travel" - I was expecting a memoir, yet it is actually fiction.

I read Stephen Clarke's "Merde Actually" and laughed so many times that I had to read the prequel "A Year in the Merde". Both are hilarious, colored with stories that will have expats shaking their heads in agreement. I'm not sure that you'll find these books funny if you've never spent time in France, but I'm certain you will enjoy them if you have.

Based on the title, I'm afraid I expected a humorous take on "A Year in Provence."

What struck me immediately was the sophomoric personality of the main character, the parade of women he carried on with, and his petulant, whiny tone throughout the book. For example, near the end, he gets a cold, yes, a cold, and bores the reader for approximately fifteen pages about how this is the 'cold to end all colds' and whines and yipes about how long the line at the pharmacy was, and then gives me some really unnecessary descriptions of his phlegm problem and the various medications he takes to cure it.

In most cases, he misses the opportunity to work outward from his personal story to say something significant about the culture that he's in (for example, by comparing the British and French health care systems or attitudes towards health or so forth). Another glaring example of this weakness is when he suggests that the 35 hour workweek is really great because it allows for Friday afternoon trysts -- as though somehow the entire country is a gigantic theme park somehow designed for his base needs -- food, sex and a clean bathroom, apparently.

I suppose if you concur with his world outlook, then you'll love this book -- but people like you probably shouldn't travel much however, you'll just alienate and bore the natives.

I'm French and I read this book because an American friend lent it to me. I spent a lot of time in the US where I studied and worked and it took me a lot of time to understand why I felt so lost in this country just like most Americans feel upon moving to France. I just felt Americans were so welcoming but at the same time seemed so rude to me. Obviously I was the one who should try to understand and adapt and after a while and some introspection things went very well.

I was first intrigued by this story but I enjoyed reading it. However, you should know this book isn't to be taken too seriously. It made me laugh because I could recognize typical French reactions to what we see as rude and arrogant British behavior. But everyone wouldn't act like that although at times I would have done the same because the character deserved it for being such an ass. He unconsciously realizes he is not going anywhere acting like that and gradually adapts to the French way of life. For sure, French are never going to change because foreigner don't understand them, which is quite normal after all, even if they should sometimes. In fact what is striking about the relationship between French and Brits or Americans is how much everything looks the same on the surface but is different underneath, in the details. Obviously one has to concede the character isn't trying his best to adapt to the codes and, unfortunately, gets what you would expect a (stereotypical) Frenchman would do to a foreigner acting that way: a revenge for not trying to act French in the form of rudeness and aggressivity. So if that book seems to illustrate your feeling about your last trip to France try to read a few tips on how to get the best of French people. Here are mine: be polite, not intrusive, and say it when something is wrong... French people also hate it when a waiter or store clerk is rude, they just go to another café or store or if they can't, they put up with it with a "C'est la vie" (It is life). French people will suffer the same hardships, they are just brought up to suffer them philosophically. There are some things that can be shocking to Americans. It is indeed OK to talk about sex, but slippery to talk about money. Well, that's just the way we are, it doesn't mean you HAVE TO talk about sex. French people will correct your pronounciation, but don't be mad at them, they just want to help you become more French. If they make you mad they'd probably make another Frenchman even more mad. French people can be really generous and welcoming provided they don't see you as the "Ugly American" or Briton and it doesn't take a lot: don't talk overly loud and when they offer wine don't ask for a coke. Everybody drinks coke in France, just not with their cheese. In a word, do not refuse to taste their culture. That's supposedly the reason of your trip. Although not everything is correct or accurate in this book, most is BUT you shouldn't take everything too literally. Most of the characters or the situations have been exaggerated a bit so as to make it more funny.

Enjoy it, it's a fun book and will definitely show you how bad it can get, but don't form an opinion about France based only on this book. It doesn't have to be that bad.

When I first began reading this book I thought it was non-fiction. It seemed real enough. Unfortunately it is fiction but it was still a great read. I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time.
Merde recounts the fictional adventures and misadventures of Paul West, an English businessman sent to Paris to create and open an English tea room as he encounters the language and culture of Paris. Merde is both real and metaphor. Dogs deposit 15 tons of poop onto the streets of Paris each year, resulting in the hospitalization of 650 people after a slip and fall. Clarke's account of learning to cope with the omnipresent poop provides one of the many hilarious learning opportunities.
This was one of the most enjoyable books I have read recently. The story is well told, with just the right balance between understatement and outright hilarity. "West's" commentary on French life are perfectly formed. A concluding note about the author indicates that Clarke is working on the "next volume of Paul West's adventures." Savor the merde!

Pity they don't have negative stars.

I didn't buy the book, but it interested me so I read a few section at the book store. What struck me was that there was absolutely no insight into France and the French culture, but just ramblings by a very stupid, conceited, xenophobic--and above all boring--British ass.

The protagonist makes no effort to understand things and seem to assume that his expatriate status allows him to try things he'd never get away with at home.

And before someone plays the "you don't know how expats think": I grew up in Germany, worked as a tour guide during college, lived in France and the UK, and now work in the Bay Area. There are many admirable, funny, generous and smart Brits, unfortunately, the protagonist is the kind that you normally see on TV news during soccer riots.

I haven't laughed so much reading a book in ages. Can't wait to read the next installment of Paul West's adventures. If you are a francophile, anglophile, and humorphile, you will enjoy this book.

I can't believe some of these reviews. Surely the negetive reviewers didn't read the same book I did. I love books about France. I love books by expats living in France. This is one of those books. It's one of those books that explores the cultural differences between France and Brits working in France... which is a very similar experience between France and Americans working in France. The differences lead to some humorous situations. The author does this with affection for the French. So when his main character hits this cultural brick wall, those of us who've been there sure can relate. I think this was a fun read. It's very funny and full of 'frenchisms' I could relate to and laugh at. It's not mean spirited at all. It's obviously written by someone who's come to love and understand the french.

I just don't understand how can poeple not find this book funny? I laughed so much! I am my self an expatriot so maybe that's why i understand the humoristic sides of the story?

This is the funniest book I have read in ages. If you have even the slightest knowledge of the way things are done (or not done!) in France, you will love this book. Can't wait for the next one!

I gave up after about page 20. The author has little writing talent, I'd say, and tries to be funny, but isn't. I agree with all of the negative comments on Amazon. Glad I borrowed it from the library. A waste of time and money.