Merde Happens
Stephen Clarke, . . Bloomsbury, $24.95 (369pp) ISBN 978-1-59691-527-5
In this entertaining third installment to his Paul West series, British journalist Clarke sets his acerbic sights on America. Paul, an ex-pat Brit running a tearoom in Paris, commits a grievous crime when he presents English menus at his tearoom. The Ministry of Culture slaps him with a massive fine, and a broke Paul returns to London and accepts a position with Visitor Resources: Britain to represent his home country in a global tourism contest. So, with his Parisian girlfriend in tow, Paul heads for America, picks up an embarrassingly decorated Mini Cooper in New York and heads to Boston, Miami, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Los Angeles in an effort to win the prize. Trouble follows, of course, and what makes the transcontinental romp so much fun is Clarke’s sarcastic sendup of each city, embellishing the traditional stereotypes of each with a dry, jaded Brit wit. (The magazines found in a Louisiana home include “
Reviewed on: 02/11/2008
Genre: Fiction
Hardcover - 381 pages - 978-0-593-05631-8
Open Ebook - 384 pages - 978-1-4070-3854-4
Open Ebook - 384 pages - 978-1-60819-586-2
Paperback - 369 pages - 978-1-59691-629-6
Paperback - 384 pages - 978-0-14-305609-6
Paperback - 384 pages - 978-0-552-77352-2