[Paul West 02] • Merde Actually

**'Edgier than Bryson, hits harder than Mayle' **

** *The Times* **

A year after arriving in France, Englishman **Paul West** is still struggling with some fundamental questions:

What is the best way to scare a gendarme? Why are there no health warnings on French **nudist** beaches? And is it really polite to sleep with your boss's **mistress**?

Paul opens his **English tea room**, and mutates (temporarily) into a Parisian waiter; samples the pleasures of typically French hotel-room afternoons; and, on a return visit to the UK, sees the full horror of a **British office party** through Parisian eyes.

Meanwhile, he continues his search for the perfect French mademoiselle. But will Paul find *l'amour éternel*, or will it all end in ** *merde* **?

** *MERDE ACTUALLY* **

**In his second comedy of errors, Paul West continues to sabotage the entente cordiale.**

**Author's apology:** 'I'd just like to say sorry to all the suppository fans out there, because in this book there are no suppositories. There are, however, lots of courgettes, and I see this as progress. Suppositories to courgettes - I think it proves that I'm developing as a writer.' Stephen Clarke