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scarlettletters 's review for:
A Year in the Merde
by Stephen Clarke
So, I initially started reading this for the "travel memoir" task in the Read Harder challenge and then about halfway through I realized it wasn't a memoir. There were two things that tipped me off:
1. The name of the main character wasn't the name of the author
2. The intrigue started to get a bit too intense and stretched the limits of credulity.
As a person who has spent time as an expat in a country where I don't know the language, I could relate to a lot of Paul's troubles and complaints. Yeah, he plays into a lot of French stereotypes for humorous effect, but I found when I lived in Germany that many stereotypes were based in reality, as I'm sure many stereotypes about Americans are exaggerations of reality. This book also was published in 2004, so one plot point is the interaction between the French and the English's reactions to the Iraq war. Remember when everyone in America started hating France because of that? It took me back.
Anyway this wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it was entertaining enough.
1. The name of the main character wasn't the name of the author
2. The intrigue started to get a bit too intense and stretched the limits of credulity.
As a person who has spent time as an expat in a country where I don't know the language, I could relate to a lot of Paul's troubles and complaints. Yeah, he plays into a lot of French stereotypes for humorous effect, but I found when I lived in Germany that many stereotypes were based in reality, as I'm sure many stereotypes about Americans are exaggerations of reality. This book also was published in 2004, so one plot point is the interaction between the French and the English's reactions to the Iraq war. Remember when everyone in America started hating France because of that? It took me back.
Anyway this wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it was entertaining enough.