A Year in the Scheisse: Getting to Know the Germans

by Roger Boyes

Writing incisively, hilariously, and almost without prejudice, a British journalist describes the peculiarities of everyday life in Germany.

"The three of us were the backbone of the British press corps. No cliché about Germany left the country without us having given it our seal of approval." Laugh-out-loud funny, this is the memorable story of an English journalist's adventures—including his encounters with women—as he tries to get to grip with the Germans. Facing bankruptcy, Roger is advised by his accountant to make use of a legal loophole: in Germany married couples have their tax bill halved. So the search is on for a German bride. Meanwhile his father, a former bomber pilot and war hero, is also in financial trouble and is threatening to move to Germany and sponge off his son. The combination of financial, romantic, and parental crises sets in motion a hilarious romp during which we readers more than they really wanted to about speed-dating, nudist beaches, the British media obsession with Adolf Hitler, how to cheat at the Berlin marathon, curry wurst, and stuffed cabbage.

Genres: Travel, Humor, Nonfiction, Germany, Memoir

231 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Sapphir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich habe das Buch im Bücherschrank entdeckt und es mitgenommen, weil ich davon ausgegangen bin, dass es vielleicht ganz witzig sein könnte. Inzwischen habe ich es durchgelesen und festgestellt: Witzischkeit kennt durchaus Grenzen, und zwar leider vor allem in diesem Buch.
Was in der Werbung auf dem Backcover als "bissig" und "humorvoll" beschrieben wird, habe ich beim Lesen oft als gehässig, moralisch äußerst fragwürdig und diskriminierend empfunden - von "humorvoll" ist meiner bescheidenen Meinung nach häufig nicht sonderlich viel zu merken. Stattdessen wird in der vorliegenden Geschichte immer wieder deutlich, dass der Autor bzw. der Icherzähler sehr konkrete (und sehr konservative) Vorstellungen davon hat, wie die Welt auszusehen hat - wobei sowohl die Leute, die diesen Vorstellungen entsprechen (etwa weinerliche Frauen, die nur nach einem ritterlichen Beschützer suchen), als auch diejenigen, die es nicht tun, ihr Fett wegkriegen.
Mir war beim Lesen allerdings oft nicht klar, warum der Autor Menschen, die keinerlei größere Rolle im Text spielen und die dem Erzähler auch nicht einmal persönlich bekannt sind, vollkommen nonchalant mit boshaften Vokabeln belegt. So gibt es etwa "die üblichen zwergwüchsigen Äthiopier und Kenianer", füllige Brautjungfern werden als "Apricot-Würste" bezeichnet und ein neu kennengelernter Nachbar in greller Radfahrkleidung ist angeblich ein "Fahrrad-Fascho" - abgesehen davon, dass nirgendwo erklärt wird, worum es sich bei dieser "Gattung" überhaupt handeln soll, gibt es für die (m. E. nach deutschen Maßstäben eher ungeheuerliche) Bezeichnung an keiner Stelle im Text irgendeine Begründung. Aber das passt dann wiederum zu der lässigen Art, mit der Hitler-Bezüge immer wieder in den Plot eingeflochten werden ...
Insgesamt finde ich die Art des Icherzählers, andere Leute so ganz nebenbei gnadenlos abzuurteilen, alles andere als sympathisch, und was in der Story wahrscheinlich als schlitzohrige Taktik, seine Ziele zu erreichen, gemeint sein soll, kam bei mir als ziemlich rücksichtslose, egoistische Art zu handeln an.
Ich vergebe zwei Sterne, weil die Handlung des Buches nicht schlecht geschrieben ist und weil sie an einigen wenigen Stellen sogar wirklich witzig ist. Und immerhin ist der Protagonist am Ende zumindest so halbwegs geläutert.
Mein Fazit: Kann man lesen, muss man aber nicht.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slightly disappointing with little interesting or amusing insight. This reads very much more like a novel rather than a work of journalistic non-fiction; it is all just too improbable otherwise. It is also apparent that this was written and published initially in Germany, where the humour is possibly more successful. It is a comedy of errors that reminds me of Benny Hill or Mr Bean, both popular in Germany from my experience, and also reminiscent of the ghastly Mrs Brown's Boys. I think the humour is too heavy-handed and clumsy to deal successfully with stereotypes. The book deals more with English stereotypes and seems to play to what might be popular German perceptions; in the book the English are insensitive, bumbling idiots dashing from one ludicrous caper to the next (perhaps not unlike Jeeves and Wooster, or Last of the Summer Wine), treating people obnoxiously, and otherwise obsessed with the Second World War - although there's certainly truth in some of those stereotypes. Boyes himself comes across as a really unlikeable idiot, and I found myself having virtually no sympathy for him in the various "comic" situations he finds himself in. Overall, I wouldn't particularly recommend the book, although it's not a terrible book - I at least finished it, and finished it quickly, and there were one or two moments that were amusing.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boyes arrives in Germany hoping to understand the German people better and to collect anecdotes about Hitler for the UK press. But he is up the financial creek without a paddle and his accountant advises him to find a bride quickly for tax reasons. And so begins the amusing tales of his year in Germany.

Immersing himself in the culture he tries speed dating, inadvertently visits a nudist beach, spectacularly fails at cooking several times, has a massive relationship disaster and alienates two women in the process, and has his father and his friend turn up.

It is a mildly amusing book, and is as much about the British culture, as it is about German culture. It does end on a happy note, but not for the reasons that you think.

[Jessica Zoop · Rating 1 out of 5]

A jerk bumbles about & blames his dating problems on the fact that he is a British man living in Germany. When in fact, his problem is that he's a selfish, lazy, jerk.

There are a few amusing insights into the German culture but otherwise the book is mediocre at best.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up 1/3 of the way through - gleaning "humor" out of this one was a real needle-in-a-haystack adventure with which I lost patience.

[Inga · Rating 1 out of 5]

"My Dear Krauts" von Roger Boyes lag schon eine ganze Weile in der Kiste mit zu Lesendem neben meinem Bett. Heute habe ich es zuende gelesen und frage mich, wie das Werk es auf die Bestsellerlisten geschafft hatte. Zugegeben, vielleicht bin ich zu kritisch oder aber vielleicht abgestumpft, was die Komik des Buches angeht.
Ich habe ein Jahr in England gelebt, ich kenne die Briten oder zumindest bin ich nicht komplett unerfahren im Umgang mit ihnen, auch wenn ich anteilig mehr durchgeknallte 18-jährige Erstsemester kennen gelernt habe als "normale Briten". Zudem habe ich knapp drei Jahre in Berlin gelebt und weiß, wie Berliner so sind, sein können, sein wollen - wie auch immer.
Der durch Berlin mäandernde britische Journalist aus Roger Boyes' Buch erzählt also keine echten Neuigkeiten. Die Idee, ein Brite könnte ernsthaft beim Berlin-Marathon betuppen, nur um eine Frau zu beeindrucken, die er vielleicht heiraten will, um seine Steuerlast zu verringern, damit er seinen in England in Finanznot geratenen Vater mit durchbringen kann, ist schlichtweg absurd. Könnte komisch sein, vielleicht ist es komisch, ich bin mir nicht sicher. Ich hatte jedenfalls Lustigeres erwartet - so hat sich das Buch für mich nicht wirklich gelohnt. Macht nichts, dafür war es leicht zu lesen. Ob Boyes bzw. sein Protagonist wirklich "die Deutschen entdeckt" hat, wie im Untertitel behauptet, oder vielmehr eine etwas vorpubertäre Seite seines eigenen Selbst, bleibt anzuzweifeln.

[StefanieFrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorvolle Erzählung für nebenbei, die allerdings erst nach den ersten Seiten Fahrt aufnimmt...

Der Times-Mitarbeiter Roger Boyes beschreibt als Ich-Erzähler die Erlebnisse als britischer Berlin- und Deutschland Korrespondent. Er reiht verschiedene Erlebnisse von der Hauptstadt bis zur Provinz aneinander, die Klammer bilden die Sorge des Korrespondenten, in welcher Form er sich um seinen verwitweten Vater am besten zu kümmern habe, sowie seine allgemeinen Geldsorgen.


Und hier liegt das Problem, das ich mit diesem Buch hatte: (erst) nach der knappen Hälfte fing ich an, dieses Buch zu Ende lesen zu wollen. Ich hatte das Buch geliehen bekommen und begonnen, weil ich interkulturelle Themen mag und doch zumindest ein leises Schmunzeln erhoffte durch den distanzierteren Blick „von außen“. Jedoch fand ich mich zu Beginn mehrheitlich wieder in Schilderungen, die mich eher an den Humor von Fernsehshows der 50er Jahre mit vorher einstudierten Pointen erinnerten – mit Situationen, die vermutlich auch einfach nicht mehr hergaben wie beim Besuch eines ehemaligen Kellners, der Hitler bedient hatte, oder beim Speeddating.


Amüsant wurde es für mich erst danach: der Autor, auf der Suche nach einer (möglichst ärmeren) Ehefrau primär zur steuerlichen Besserstellung, findet sich plötzlich immerhin zwischen zwei Frauen wieder, die ihn durchaus ernsthaft interessieren, und schafft er es sogar, die Geschichte Fahrt aufnehmen zu lassen.
Schade, dass diese Ansätze nicht im Anfang des Buches weiter ausgearbeitet wurden.
Wäre das möglich, erhielte der Beginn von mir 2 Sterne, der Rest 3-4 – bei einer Einteilung als „humorvolle Erzählung“.
Mich würde interessieren, was das Finanzamt Berlin-Wilmersdorf von der Widmung hielt?

[Robert Schulz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boyes, seit 1993 Korrespondent der The Times in Deutschland, geht in seiner Erzählung auf Entdeckungstour im deutschen Alltag. Allerdings lotet er nicht die Untiefen der intensiven deutsch-englischen Hassliebe aus, sondern stochert in langweiligen Klischees, wie der deftigen deutschen Küche, wie sie so wohl nur noch in einigen geschützten Reservaten vorkommt. Auch sonst wirkt das Buch unkreativ und unmotiviert und ist schlichtweg weder interessant noch erheiternd. Mal wieder ein klarer Elfmeter, der von englischer Seite verschossen wird.

[Maxi Bauer · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's bad. It's just bad.
His attempts at humour fall flat every time he tries, none of it is funny. Instead of being entertaining he comes off as a posh asshole cheating on his girlfriend and calling it "road testing" and of course the woman is the crazy one for being jealous.
Even the title is misleading, the book isn't really about Germany at all. It's about an English man living in Germany, yes. But it's not about German clichées like the title implies, it's about a love triangle.
And it doesn't portray Germany right at all. I am a German who moved to England so I have experienced exactly what the author did, but the other way around and its just so stupid.
This book makes me angry, the only reason it had two stars is because it at least didn't have spelling errors.

[Susanne Beyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pfui, wie gemein!

Da muss doch tatsächlich jemand 285 Seiten aus diesem Buch herausgerissen und durch 285 andere Seiten ersetzt haben. Von der rückseitig angekündigten "rasanten, pointenreichen Sittenkomödie in bester angelsächsischer Tradition" keine Spur. Vielleicht finde ich sie irgendwann zwischen zwei anderen Buchdeckeln wieder???

[Kora Kaos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hier ist ein Stern schon zuviel! Ja, platt, unter der Gürtellinie und voller Stereotype. Deutsche aus der Sicht eines Briten habe ich nicht entdeckt, nur eine unsagbar schlecht geschriebene Geschichte. Knapp 300 Seiten Zeitverschwendung..

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special.
Expected more details about German life and instead, there was a persistent complaining the whole book.

[Dzor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty pointless. Protagonist rather unlikeable, but a few redeeming characters and moments of humor.

[George Foord · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and was gripped throughout. I think you should read it and make up your own mind instead of reading these other reviews.

[Aled Owen-Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover and the title bear no relation to what the book is about, weirdly. It's not even a travel book, it's more about love than anything else.

It's alright, I laughed.

[Ronald Yu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not funny and doesn’t do a good job portraying germany at all

[T H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately funny account of life in Germany

[Andrew Walton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Always admire the effort it takes to write a book and get it published.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise, but the "story" just drags on. Not even the stereotypical characters were funny enough to make up for it.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the beginning of the book seemed to me a little "slow", with the beginning of the plot it became catchier and catchier, and in the end I couldn't stop reading it! For those who have read "a year in the merde" from Stephen Clarke, I have to tell you that this book has nothing to do with it and has a different style. I suppose when I started reading "A year in the Scheisse" I was expecting the same story but moved to another country, and that's why the beginning was not that interesting or funny for me, coz until i got into the plot I was just adapting from one writer to another. I know France, and I know Germany, and I expected to see all this cultural shock reflected on the book -like it happens in "A year in the merde", but in fact the main character has been living already for 30 years in Germany, so of course many of those things that may have shocked him at the beginning of his stay in the country have turned now into part of his routine.
So what I mean is that the book tells a story happening in Germany, and goes behind apparent clichés, wanting more to analyze characters personalities, but all this in a hilarious context.

In a nutshell, the book is about a cynical journalist in tax debt who needs a miracle, or a crazy plan, to solve his situation.

[Norbert P · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not only the title that makes this book comparable with 'A Year in the Merde', but the perspective of the author seems to be another. Boyes's protagonist seems to be well in his fourties, a journalist looking for a wife in order to reduce taxes. The amorous adventures he gets into are therefore somehow planned but happen to be completely unexpected in their outcome and in the end it's not him who is going to be married. Although Boyes too artificially plays with the differences between two cultures, the plot of his book is always the more important part whereas in Clarkes novel the plot only serves to create a succession of comic situations in order to ridicule french lifestyle which is funny indeed but remains always a bit adolescent compared with 'A Year in the Scheisse'. A really funny book with lovable characters, a page-turner from the first to the last chapter.

[Angelo Vassallo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book after having read two similar ones („Quattro Stagioni: ein Jahr in Rom“ and „Das Kind unterm Salatblatt“). I have to say that the past two were better than “My dear Krauts”. To be honest with you I don’t know if the reason is the author or the different history. Maybe since the first two are located or have as protagonists Italian people, I felt them closer to me, but I think as well that their humor was more brilliant of the “My dear Krauts”. In effect, even if you have funny histories in this book, I cannot say that I completely enjoyed this humor and I’m not quite sure if I should read the second book “How to be a Kraut”.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars (nearer 1 than 2 but I am feeling generous)

I could tell this was supposed to be funny but I just couldn't even crack a smile. I had thought the book would include funny observations of German quirks in general, coupled with funny observations of an Englishman's pre-conceived ideas of Germans and how they are challenged. The book was a narrative of the author's life in Germany (as the title indicates) but it seems the author came into contact with few Germans apart from one or two men to be sneered at and a couple of neurotic women. I'd have thought, even in just a year, the author would have intereacted with more people and had more to say about the Germans in general.

[Mark Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

As an Englishman living in Germany, I immediately grabbed this book when I saw it in the second-hand store. It looked like an entertaining read - the experiences and observations of other British guys living in this brilliant country appealed to me. What I got, however, was a series of spurious anecdotes from a selfish, lazy prick regarding his experiences of speed dating, and travelling around Germany in pursuit of tabloid journalism garbage to publish. Sure, I read through (most of) this thing in a day, giggling once or twice in the process - I guess I could credit the author with making a train journey less dull. That's about it.

[Chrissi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger Boyes tells life like it is - messy, ridiculous, and absolutely hilarious. The good and the bad, the struggles and the joys - but the struggles seem to bring the most laughter. Whether it was his description of going to the gym locker room, the elaborate cheating game at the Berlin Marathon, or the fiery confrontation between two girlfriends on the Baltic holiday, I pretty much laughed for most of this book. It reminds me of the same issues I've had in travel - things that are so mad they could only happen in real life and only to me. I am looking forward to picking up the second book to see how the adventures continue.

[MLE · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read it because it was in the bestsellers section. Other than that, I'm not so sure what's so 'best selling' about it. The author tries to be funny but a lot of the time it's not. 'Getting to know the Germans' is very misleading because his experiences with a few specific people obviously don't represent what the whole country is like. Just treat it as a fiction, because I get the feeling that most of it is made up anyway (especially the marathon, speed dating and the dinner part --- come to think of it, everything, actually!)...

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book I've ever read. I don't have a clue how the author got it published. He tries to relate his experiences in Germany, but fails miserably. I, as a German, am convinced that he has no understanding of the German people and culture. It seems as if he repeats stereotypes all the time in his superficial account of living in Germany. He is not funny at all, I didn't even laugh once while reading. Don't read it, you will be disappointed. Safe the money for a trip to Germany instead ;)

[NSG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find it that bad. The text could have had more emotions and imagery in it. The story, despite of its sluggish start, was quite nice. Mr. Boyes managed to do something very hard to achieve in culture-based comedy books: To be able to convey culture specific information with enough detail to the people who have no idea on German culture.

[Ariane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Der Plot ist eigentlich ziemlich lahm und die Geschichte an sich schon tausendmal erzählt.
Das Geniale an diesem Buch ist die Perspektive. Die vielen Verallgemeinerungen über Deutsche und das Wundern über Berliner Phänomene sind meist einfach nur komisch.

[Shana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read Roger Boyes' articles in the Saturday Tagesspiegel with joy, but this book was a real disappointment. I think he tried to write it in the same sort of style that David Sedaris uses. BOyes should stick to Boyes and not try to do Sedaris.