Lost and Found in Paris: A Memoir

Following his hilarious introduction to Paris in French Like Moi, Midwesterner Scott Dominic Carpenter returns to the scene of the crime with more tales of intrigue.

This time, though, the story starts with sorrow as Carpenter’s wife struggles with dementia. Humor may be the best medicine, but even the antics of a vandal in their building can’t cement the tiles of her memory for long. Before he expects it, the author finds himself alone in a capital that is also blighted by the pandemic.

It’s against this backdrop that the city comes roaring back to life. From bizarre encounters on the Metro to comical clashes with authority figures, and even a quixotic battle against a flock of migrant parrots, Paris Lost and Found unveils sides of the great city that are as quirky as they are authentic. With his unique blend of wit, insight, and wistfulness, Carpenter charts a path through his new labyrinth of solitude--only to emerge on the other side, squinting into the bright light of hope and new beginnings.

Maybe it was the
early job at a uranium mine. Perhaps it’s his fascination with the Paris
catacombs. For whatever reason, acclaimed author Scott Dominic Carpenter relishes
telling stories from beneath life’s mundane surface.

A professor
of French literature and creative writing at Carleton College, Scott Dominic
Carpenter’s books include the 2021 Midwest Bookstore Bestseller French Like
Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris, for which he was given a Next Generation
Indie Book Award, and This Jealous Earth, a collection of short stories.
In 2018, Carpenter won the Mark Twain House Royal Nonesuch Award, a national
humor writing contest. His award-winning
first novel Theory of Remainder, a Kirkus Best Book of 2013, is currently
under option by a major motion picture production company.

Always searching for the next unexpected story, Scott
Dominic Carpenter splits his time between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Paris,
France.