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njgriffin's review against another edition
1.0
I've had this book for years after it was recommended by a friend, can't remember which one, as being very funny. Finally got round to read it one day as I was reminiscing over my time overseas. This is a hateful book which tells the apparently autobiographical story of when the author spent a year in Paris as an over paid twenty something forced to sleep with a string of beautiful young Parisian women while all the time being completely smug about how superior he was. Would rather be dragged naked through a field of broken glass than spend 5 minutes in his company. Don’t know why I finished reading it. I suppose I sort of hoped that there would be some sort of moment of self-realisation at the end. It is one of the few books that found their way into a donation box this year. (with all due respect to whomever recommended it in in the first place )
stripe_la's review against another edition
3.0
Average audiobook to run too. Completely get all the comments about it’s misogyny, a VERY 1 dimensional view on women, but at the same time I didn’t take it too seriously so just let it go. All in all alright, entertaining enough with some good witty comments scattered
mimipolston's review against another edition
1.0
The only reason I finished the book was because I started a game to count how many times Stephen Clarke could objectify women in 380 pages.
The final count is 88 times, each one taking up about a page (even though there are 380 pages, I read it in under a day, probably because I wanted to get it over with. It's a quick yet excruciating read).
That means roughly 25% of this book is spent with Stephen Clarke writing about breasts, cellulite, his penis, and complaining about not getting laid by women who have no character development except mentioning the color of their skin and hair.
A few gems (flip to any page):
" 'Pardonne-moi, mon Englishman,' she said fondly, and left me standing there in the ladies, with yet another useless erection. Lucky hard-ons are biodegradable, I thought, because I was throwing a lot of them away."
" Jean-Marie praising her professional skills, Nicole wanting to rip her bodice open and have him praise her boobs. Or was I being stereotypical?" (Answer: yes)
" The girls shaping their buttocks and massaging their breasts really didn't need to worry, but I wasn't going to tell them to stop."
And my favorite one:
" 'Tell you what, Florence. This weekend, let's go get an AIDS test.' She lifted herself up off the pillow and leaned over to kiss me. After all, these days it's about the most romantic thing a guy can say to a girl."
In comparison, he mentions the Eiffel Tower 5 times and champagne 7 times. Other dominant themes include dog shit and homophobia.
I live in France and am married to a French man, so this book had a lot of potential. Being an expat here should provide a writer with a bounty of material - the administration, the general attitudes, work and family life, food, history - all topics that Clarke touched for about a page or two. Most of this story is poorly-written sexually-repressed drivel showing a lack of imagination, talent, and maturity.
Quelle dommage!
The final count is 88 times, each one taking up about a page (even though there are 380 pages, I read it in under a day, probably because I wanted to get it over with. It's a quick yet excruciating read).
That means roughly 25% of this book is spent with Stephen Clarke writing about breasts, cellulite, his penis, and complaining about not getting laid by women who have no character development except mentioning the color of their skin and hair.
A few gems (flip to any page):
" 'Pardonne-moi, mon Englishman,' she said fondly, and left me standing there in the ladies, with yet another useless erection. Lucky hard-ons are biodegradable, I thought, because I was throwing a lot of them away."
" Jean-Marie praising her professional skills, Nicole wanting to rip her bodice open and have him praise her boobs. Or was I being stereotypical?" (Answer: yes)
" The girls shaping their buttocks and massaging their breasts really didn't need to worry, but I wasn't going to tell them to stop."
And my favorite one:
" 'Tell you what, Florence. This weekend, let's go get an AIDS test.' She lifted herself up off the pillow and leaned over to kiss me. After all, these days it's about the most romantic thing a guy can say to a girl."
In comparison, he mentions the Eiffel Tower 5 times and champagne 7 times. Other dominant themes include dog shit and homophobia.
I live in France and am married to a French man, so this book had a lot of potential. Being an expat here should provide a writer with a bounty of material - the administration, the general attitudes, work and family life, food, history - all topics that Clarke touched for about a page or two. Most of this story is poorly-written sexually-repressed drivel showing a lack of imagination, talent, and maturity.
Quelle dommage!
anni_in_wonderland's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
1.0
I wish I had not disliked this book as much as I did. The protagonist/narrative voice - which supposedly is some sort of self-insert of the author, or at least of his fantasies of who we would like to be - is absolutely insufferable. Don't get me wrong, this isn't my first book featuring a young, horny male protagonist. However, this man is supposedly in his twenties and assumed to be a bit of prodigy in his career as he is sent to France to manage a chain of teashops.
To be completely honest, I'm still unsure why I finished this book. It did take me nearly two years but for some reason something did keep me going and I admit I have a hard time dropping or letting go of books. There was some situational comedy that kept me entertained - after all, I'm German and enjoy a good joke on the expense of the French people just as much as our friends across the channel. 😉 Just kidding - I love the French! And yes, so does our protagonist, who also tells a brief story of strugglingf to adjust to life in England as he goes to visit his family at home. I actually enjoyed that part, as someone who has spent most of their own twenties as an ex-pat there were relatable bits in there. It is hard to overlook the way the protagonist sees every single woman he encounters as a sex object, weirdly enough even women he claims he isn't really attracted to. At the same time he is so vanilla and boring, it's absolutely unbelievable that all these accomplished and attractive Parisian womemn throw themselves at him the way they do! And it doesn't stop there: Even when he claims to be focused on something else, he thinks about women: "I was far too focused on [something] so that I almost didn't notice all the long-legged, well-dressed Parisian beauties strolling by the patio of the little cozy Parisian cafe where I was enjoying my morning coffee." And the (male) vendor across the street is handling dirty mushrooms? So sensual, almost like a sexual act.
It must be very exhausting to be this dude.
There is also some (thinly veiled?) homophobia and transphobia in two of the side plots/stories - there isn't any agression towards the queer characters but they are used at the butt of a joke, so be aware of that if you should still want to read this book.
To be completely honest, I'm still unsure why I finished this book. It did take me nearly two years but for some reason something did keep me going and I admit I have a hard time dropping or letting go of books. There was some situational comedy that kept me entertained - after all, I'm German and enjoy a good joke on the expense of the French people just as much as our friends across the channel. 😉 Just kidding - I love the French! And yes, so does our protagonist, who also tells a brief story of strugglingf to adjust to life in England as he goes to visit his family at home. I actually enjoyed that part, as someone who has spent most of their own twenties as an ex-pat there were relatable bits in there. It is hard to overlook the way the protagonist sees every single woman he encounters as a sex object, weirdly enough even women he claims he isn't really attracted to. At the same time he is so vanilla and boring, it's absolutely unbelievable that all these accomplished and attractive Parisian womemn throw themselves at him the way they do! And it doesn't stop there: Even when he claims to be focused on something else, he thinks about women: "I was far too focused on [something] so that I almost didn't notice all the long-legged, well-dressed Parisian beauties strolling by the patio of the little cozy Parisian cafe where I was enjoying my morning coffee." And the (male) vendor across the street is handling dirty mushrooms? So sensual, almost like a sexual act.
It must be very exhausting to be this dude.
There is also some (thinly veiled?) homophobia and transphobia in two of the side plots/stories - there isn't any agression towards the queer characters but they are used at the butt of a joke, so be aware of that if you should still want to read this book.
red0nyou's review against another edition
4.0
Éste Mundial lo ganó Francia.
Y eso no me encantó. Aunque a muchos les haya emocionado. Es por eso que me enfrasqué en un libro que se mofara de los franceses,. Y vaya que me ayudó a sobreponerme de tal avalancha francófila de mis conocidos.
El libro es bastante ligero, pero sin caer (tanto) en la vulgaridad. La historia es una mera excusa para quejarse de las peculiaridades de los franceses y su cultura, pero a la mitad del libro, uno se engancha con el protagonista y quiere saber más de lo que le va sucediendo.
Y eso no me encantó. Aunque a muchos les haya emocionado. Es por eso que me enfrasqué en un libro que se mofara de los franceses,. Y vaya que me ayudó a sobreponerme de tal avalancha francófila de mis conocidos.
El libro es bastante ligero, pero sin caer (tanto) en la vulgaridad. La historia es una mera excusa para quejarse de las peculiaridades de los franceses y su cultura, pero a la mitad del libro, uno se engancha con el protagonista y quiere saber más de lo que le va sucediendo.
isatvbg's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
Funny and witty criticism of France but heavily misogynistic