# A Year in the Merde

By Stephen Clarke · Merde, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/a-year-in-the-merde-4d0edb21/

Paul West comes to Paris to open British tearooms for a French employer. His French is shaky, his confidence less so. Work meetings, finding somewhere to live and pursuing women give him plenty of opportunities to discover what he has misunderstood.

## What makes it funny?

Paul’s boss tries to sell him a country cottage without letting a planned nuclear power station next door spoil the sales pitch.

### The comedy at work

Paul interprets unfamiliar office habits through British expectations, then runs into trouble putting his own plans into practice. His romantic failures give the narrator a chance to direct some of the mockery at himself.

### Try this if…

For readers who enjoy expat comedy with language mistakes, caustic cultural observations and an energetic interest in sex.

### Good to know

This is a novel written in the form of a memoir. Clarke says its characters combine people he has known. Expect profanity, sexual material and broad jokes about national habits.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary
- On the shelf: Workplace comedy
- Kind of humor: Satire
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Format: Novel

## A few distinguishing details

- An English tearoom venture in Paris
- A fictional memoir that initially confused journalists

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-clarke/a-year-in-the-merde)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://www.stephenclarkewriter.com/en/livre/a-year-in-the-merde)
- Author commentary: [Author interview](https://www.writingforums.com/threads/guest-interview-stephen-clarke.169313)