Stephen Clarke’s book ‘A Year in the Merde’ is a comedy of errors, a monthly diary about being a Brit abroad. If you like Bill Bryson’s style of wit, then you will definitely enjoy this.

Paul West, a young British business man, arrives in Paris to set up a chain of English tea rooms for his new French boss Jean-Marie.

He spends his first month familarising himself with the quirky ways of the French and having grasped the technique of how to be served by the grumpiest Parisian waiter, learning to make amour and not war, and perfecting the art of zig-zagging his way along the footpath to work to avoid the piles of ‘merde’– obiously poop scoops haven’t made their way to France yet– he settles down to some serious business.

As the months move on and Paul settles into his almost perfect surroundings. Jean-Marie can’t do enough to make him feel welcome, he even goes so far as to let him move in rent-free with his nymphomaniac daughter Elodie.

Paris was beginning to feel like Heaven and then he woke up. Paul discovers that Jean-Marie is not God after all, instead he finds the gangster has his finger in so many pies it’s hard to keep track of him.

Towards the end of the year, Paul finds himself in deep trouble with Jean-Marie, and with a definite ‘one foot in the merde’ he has to consider running or facing up to him, and so the story goes.
Stephen Clarke’s follow up to ‘A Year in the Merde’ is called ‘Merde Actually’ and is in the book shops now.