Changes

One of the good things about this series is that, however easy the target may be (the French), it really doesn't try to pick anyone out as an enemy, or prod at any stereotypes. Yes, the ruse of an Englishman facing up to the galling task of a Gallic business, treading on their own feet as regards their beloved cuisine, is the basic set-up, but instead of the broader, racial touches, we have a soapy look at Paul's life, with returning characters adding to his woes, and just generally anyone he cares to mention ganging up on him and doing him ill, either intentionally or otherwise. It is, then, a sitcom, rather than a comedy of manners or one regarding pure social differences. Here is the risqué modern art, the boss letching over his younger female intern, and the social faux-pas of avoiding voting for your mate with his diabolical verse in poetry slams – things that could be funny under any circumstance, given the right author – and are gifted that person with a particular Anglo-French bent in these pages. The cover proves it does concern French cuisine in a frivolous manner, but one could even see this as being very much in favour of the French tradition in the face of mid-Atlantic crap.

We started reviewing this series [[A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke|here]].