On the HahaFiction shelf
A Year in the Merde
by Stephen Clarke
Merde · Book 1
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.
From the author’s blurb
“the pleasures and perils of being a Brit in France”Read the full description at Stephen Clarke
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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.
A few distinguishing details
- An English tearoom venture in Paris
- A fictional memoir that initially confused journalists
More funny workplace comedy
Sources & further reading
- Kirkus review
Review
- Author
Author commentary
- Author interview
Author commentary
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