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''A Year in the Merde'' is a comic novel by Stephen Clarke first published in 2004 under the pen name Paul West. In later editions, the author's real identity was revealed. In France, the book title is ''God save la France''. Paul West is in fact the first-person narrator, a 27-year-old Englishman, single and unattached, who is recruited by a French entrepreneur and given a one-year contract in Paris to plan and organise a chain of tea rooms which his employer wants to open in the French capital. The novel covers fictional events of that year, starting in September 2002 and ending in the summer of 2003. Set at the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, ''A Year in the Merde'' is about the cultural differences between the British and the French, which are somewhat heightened by the war, especially by the opposing views on the invasion held by Blair and Chirac respectively. The French reaction to the strong anti-French sentiment in the United States is also captured in the novel. The book also brings out the ambivalent attitude of the French towards the citizens of their capital, Paris, which is treated almost as a foreign country. The character Paul in his attempts to assimilate (mainly to improve his sex-life) also contrasts other aspects of French society, in particular French bureaucracy and higher education, with the "system" in Britain. A sequel, ''Merde Actually'' (''In the Merde for Love'' in the USA), was published in 2005. As it suggests, the title is based on the film ''Love Actually''. A second sequel, ''Merde Happens'', was published in the UK in 2007 and was released in the US in the summer of 2008. A fourth book 'Dial M for Merde' was released in the UK in September 2008. ==Table of Contents== SEPTEMBRE: ''Never the Deux Shall Meet'' Why the French distrust all English, and more particularly anyone who can't speak French (for example, ''moi''). OCTOBRE: ''One Foot in the Merde'' I visit different parts of Paris, touristy and less so, treading in plenty of dog-poop, literal and metaphorical. NOVEMBRE: ''Make Yourself Chez Moi'' Looking for an apartment. The garret myth — shared hole-in-the-floor toilets are "romantic"? DÉCEMBRE: ''God Save the Cuisine'' With my palate attuned to French cuisine, I try my best to get nostalgic about British food. JANVIER: ''A Maison in the Country'' I discover the EU-subsidized quaintness of rural France and decide to buy a suspiciously cheap cottage. FÉVRIER: ''Make Amour, Not War'' Tensions as the Iraq war looms. Meanwhile, a girl tries her best to turn me into a Latin lover with an intensive course in French sexual traditions. MARS: ''The Joy of Suppositories'' I explore France's wildly generous medical system and even try out typical French "treatment by the back door." AVRIL: ''Liberté, égalité, Get Out of My Way'' I find that the French are secretly quite fond of English speakers after all. This is especially true of the exotic Florence. MAI: ''1968 and All That'' With countless long weekends, holiday allowances to be used up, and the inevitable strikes, the French know that if you haven't finished your year's work by May 1, you're in the ''merde''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/year-in-the-merde/oclc/57506540&referer=brief_results )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A Year in the Merde」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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