Found in a carboot sale.

from the cover:

"Edgier than Bryson, hits harder than Mayle"
- The Times

30th June: lent to a non BC friend.

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October update:

Got it back and finally read it myself.

Although I recognized some funny situations, foreigners may have to deal with when living in France (like for instance forgetting to pay the GP) I was not very enthousiastic about it.

Yes, I did smile and sometimes even giggle, but at the same time something in the author's style and tone of writing irritated me. I don't know if I can lay my finger on the cause of this irritation. Maybe it's his exaggerated or unnatural "popular" tone or maybe it's his (more ore less) sexist's attitude towards women, that bothered me. Or both. He is the kind of person, that has to be funny all the time, no matter what and I don't like that kind of humour. I can imagine though, that he might be better as a text-writer for stand-up comedians, which is one of the things he also seems to do nowadays, according to a short biography inside the book.

There are books by expats living in France, I liked far better.

Will be sent to chich to fulfil a wish. Hope you will enjoy it!

RELEASE NOTES:

RABCK sent along with a ringbook.

Woo Hoo!! Book received this morning, thanks so much bestfriends!! I couldn't believe my luck when I opened your package and found this book along with the ring for Reading Lolita in Tehran!! This is a book I've been wanting to read for ages! And I love the bookmark you inserted in the book, too (such a funny quotation!) :-)

Oh, by the way, did I say THANK YOU???!!!!

I'm afraid I have to agree with you bestfriends, this book is very irritating... I read it yesterday afternoon while on the ferry to Ibiza and although I did smile a few times, I really didn't appreciate Clarke's writing. I can't quite understand what bothered me about this book... Clarke does make an accurate description of some very French characteristics (Kafkaian bureaucracy, strikes, the addiction to medicine & doctors...)but at the same time, I found the book very superficial. I think you're right bestfriends, Clarke would be better as a stand-up comedian than as a writer...

Despite what the Times review says, I like writers such as Peter Mayle & Tony Hawks much better. I found their books funny, well-written and in the end, more enjoyable than this one.

Thanks anyway for this lovely RABCK bestfriends, I'd been wanting to read this book for ages!

Look what I found today at the bottom of a bag of books to be released at our OBCZ! I'd handed it to my sister ages ago, I think she read it and then completely forgot about it;-)

I think I'll try RABCKing this (although it might prove a bit difficult with wishlist search still unavailable) instead of releasing it at the OBCZ... We'll see:)

Book sent to tobysrus today as part of the Wishlist Challenge, enjoy! :)

Woo hoo! What a nice surprise I found in my mail when I came home from work today! A RABCK from chich from my wishlist!! Thank you so much chich! You absolutely made my day! I look forward to reading "A Year in the Merde"! Happy reading!

Wow, I just noticed how well-traveled this book is: Belgium, France and Spain before making its way to the US. I thought this was a fun read. In a few places it became a bit juvenile, especially his early chapter when "merde" is used about every other word. It reminded me a small boy who learns his first swear word and must use it constantly. But all in all I did like the book. It was light and entertaining, a good read for summer. I will take it to the next Boston Bookcrossers meeting and hopefully the book will return to its global travels, this time roaming around the US. Thanks again chich for the RABCK!!

Welcome to BookCrossing!

Please make a journal entry to let me know that this book has been caught so I know that it has found a good home with you. If you are new to BookCrossing, when you join please indicate that you were referred by tobysrus. I hope that you enjoy the book. You can make another journal entry with your comments when you are done reading.

Then, whenever you are ready to send it on its way, make a journal entry if you are giving or sending this book to a known person, or a release note if you are leaving it “in the wild” again for anyone to catch. Then watch its journey. You’ll be alerted by e-mail each time someone makes another journal entry. And it’s confidential (you are known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free.

I hope that you will enjoy the BookCrossing experience!

PS And if you find yourself liking BookCrossing, Boston has an active group of BookCrossers who meet monthly; the second Tuesday of the month at Algiers (40 Brattle St, Cambridge - Harvard Square, 2nd floor).
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Will be released at the August 2011 Boston Bookcrossing Meeting.