Book Review: French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris by Scott Dominic Carpente

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook from Ingram Publishing, via EdelweissPlus, free of charge, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own



Why is this book under Thursday, which is our History day?

Because for hundreds of years, we Americans have had a shared love affair with moving to the 'City of Lights' even if just for a Summer. So with many of our vacations cancelled this year, I thought why not share it today?

french like moi cover

Synopsis

When Scott Carpenter moves from Minnesota to Paris, little does he suspect the dramas that await: scheming neighbors, police denunciations, surly demonstrators, cooking disasters, medical mishaps—not to mention all those lectures about cheese! It turns out that nothing in the City of Light can be taken for granted, where even trips to the grocery store lead to adventure.

In French Like Moi, Carpenter guides us through the merry labyrinth of the everyday, one hilarious faux pas after another. Through it all, he keeps his eye on the central mystery of what makes the French French (and Midwesterners Midwestern).


Review:

Want a realistic take it moving to France? This is your book! More than just a "I'm so happy I moved to France" book, this is the behind the scenes what really happens, and what needs to be done, in order to make a smoother transition. I had every intention of just reading a couple of chapters one night, and just lightly going through the book in a week. OOPS. Nope, Scott's writing style is so funny, and able to put you RIGHT there with hom, that I found myself ha;lfway through the book, before I even looked up! So it turned into 2 sittingds! LOL. Maybe it's the Midwestern dry humor, but even when giving you practical info, it's full of little side notes, and you can perfectly picture Scott standing in front of you telling you the story right after it happened! If you can't get away for vacation this year, this is the book you're going to want to read! it makes you realize that while the grass may be greener on the other side oh, each place has its own headaches and it's not always  as easy as made to be by travel magazines. this would be a fun gift for anyone his dream to moving to France as well. Don't miss this one!


About the Author:

Minnesota-born and Midwest-bred, Scott Dominic Carpenter is the author of Theory of Remainders: A Novel (named to Kirkus Reviews’ “Best Books of 2013”) and of This Jealous Earth: Stories. Winner of a Mark Twain House Royal Nonesuch Prize (2018), recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, and semi-finalist for the Many Voices Project Prize, he has published work in a wide variety of venues, including The Rumpus, Silk Road, Catapult, South Dakota Review, and various anthologies. He lives 45 miles from Minneapolis in Northfield, Minnesota, and Paris.



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