I used to enjoy reading Stephen Clarke‘s Merde series. It is funny and light. A great read when you are on a holiday. The Merde series is men’s answer to chick-lit. These books don’t really have much depth. But surprisingly, I can still remember the plot of the James Bond inspired novel Dial M for Merde when the main character Paul West has to worked with a beautiful blonde female agent M to uncover a caviar counterfeiting operation. Or the love story Merde Happens when Paul and his girlfriend French girlfriend Alexa took a road trip to US. Being such a big Stephen Clarke fan, I am somewhat disappointed with his latest novel The Merde Factor. Even Merde Actually is much better than this.
The Merde Factor, I suppose, takes reference to The X-Factor. Instead of a music competition, The Merde Factor is a poetry competition. If you recall, Paul the Brit has a friend called Jake who is so entrenched with the French culture so much so that Jake cannot speak a sentence of English without mixing it with French words. And he writes terribly obscene poems, probably motivated by his obscure obsession to bed women from different nationalities.
Meanwhile, Paul’s French business partner Jean-Marie is thinking of taking over the My Tea Is Rich cafe and converting it into an American dinner. Paul, poor as always, settles for a job working with the Ministry of Culture in Paris. At the romance front, Alexa is now his ex. He is dating a New Zealander Marsha and is intrigued by Jean-Marie’s new intern Amandine.
The problem with The Merde Factor is, life in an office is boring. Not even Paul’s bizarre observation of the French way of life can make such an boring work life any more interesting. There is a severe lacking in the romance department too. Paul’s love with Marsha is more like a given, rather then a pursuit. His brushes with his ex are not even close to a tease. And the romance with his new love interest comes too little, too late. The so-called crisis at My Tea Is Rich is lacking in drama. And the entire poetry competition – the main theme of this book – is likely to be the only material that stands out as mildly entertaining. Good effort though, I must say. Clever too.
If I was the author, I would cut down bulk of the first half of the book and beef up the bizarre love triangle of Paul, his ex (and love of his life), and the intern. That that love story to the climatic ending. I would make it even harder to save My Team Is Rich and would definitely give a more in-depth insight on the intern’s sacrifice and the ex’s heroism. Overall, a missed opportunity to what could have been a fantastic follow up to a well loved franchise.