The author
Paul West


Before A Year in the Merde , Paul had never written anything longer than a report on British coffee-drinking habits.
Inspired partly by the culture shock on his arrival in Paris in September 2002, and partly by the enviable sales figures of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, Paul started keeping a diary of his experiences. He turned the journal into a novel when Anglo-French relations were at their worst during the Iraq War of spring 2003.
Paul is still living in Paris with his French girlfriend and her lingerie collection.

Paul would like to thank the French government for introducing the 35-hour week and giving him time to do more interesting things on a Friday afternoon than work. Merci.

There is another Paul West who is quite famous in North America. He has won amongst other things, the Aga Khan Fiction Prize. But we are happy with our Paul West, even though he has so far won nothing more prestigious than a jug of beer in his local pub quiz.

About the book
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