French Like Moi

April 1, 2020
A volume of essays recounts the joys and difficulties of a Midwestern college professor's move to Paris. On sabbatical from teaching, Carpenter moved with his wife and daughter all the way from Minnesota to Paris. After much bureaucratic hubbub, they bought a tiny apartment and set about acclimating to the Parisian way of life. No stranger to the French but a relative newcomer to their daily routines, the author highlights the captivating contrasts between his Midwestern home and his adopted city in 18 essays and three sections: "Came," "Saw," and "Conquered." Each essay focuses on a different element of Parisian life, from the relative opulence of American return policies to the ubiquity of protests and demonstrations. Carpenter's insights are humorous and deftly crafted, interweaving perceptive details about the French language with curious incidents and stirring events. While the tone is light, the author occasionally ventures into serious territory, most effectively in his discussion of terrorism and the national climate. While his more solemn moments can verge on flippancy, Carpenter generally returns readers to a place of thoughtful consideration. One of the strongest, most innovative passages comes in a chapter recalling the difficult process of raising funds and securing approvals for apartment building improvements. The author convincingly compares this process to the drama of an opera and goes so far as to provide the beginnings of a libretto. Most of his essays are also accompanied by debut illustrator Golden's charming sketches, which lend additional intrigue to Carpenter's fluid scenes. Although perhaps not groundbreaking in its subject matter or style, the book is a delightful read, presenting essays filled with levity and grace. A winning and witty collection offering humor and insight into the French way of life.

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May 11, 2020
In this funny memoir, Carpenter (Theory of Remainders), who teaches French literature and creative writing at Minnesota’s Carleton College, recounts moving from small-town Northfield, Minn., to Paris during an eye-opening sabbatical with his wife. With dry wit, Carpenter writes of being brought into the local police station within three months of his arrival for not having a proper visa; visiting the Paris catacombs, despite his intense claustrophobia; learning that his neighbors were stealthily annexing bits of the building; visiting French doctors and pharmacies; navigating the language (“For example, un car is pretty obviously a car—until it turns out to be a bus”); and observing tourists (“I have never watched locusts swarm a field of wheat, but I bet it looks a lot like Paris when the tourists arrive”). Carpenter has a knack for turning potential catastrophes into comedy, as with his account of dealing with an incompetent bank loan officer while trying to purchase an apartment (“Turned out things weren’t going, and weren’t ever going to go, precisely because my file had never gone anywhere”). Readers will find plenty to appreciate in Carpenter’s sharp take on expat life.