Novel · 2013 · Winter Goose Publishing
Theory of Remainders
A Novel
Kirkus Best Books of 2013
Midwest Connections Pick
Under option — major film production
At fifty-two, psychiatrist Philip Adler is divorced, alone, and gutted of passion. When a funeral draws him back to his ex-wife's homeland of France, the trip reunites him with a trauma he has struggled to forget: the brutal death of his teenage daughter fifteen years earlier.
Prodded by his former brother-in-law and stirred by the unspent embers of his marriage, he embarks on a mission to resolve lingering questions about the past — a search that leads to a disturbed man who may hold more answers than anyone expects, if only Philip can hear what he's trying to say. A suspenseful literary novel set in the lush landscapes of Normandy, exploring the secret ties between love, trauma, and language.
Praise & Reviews
"Fully realized characters, a remarkable fluency of language, wit, and an extensive comprehension of French culture and history make this literary novel a stellar achievement." – Kirkus Review (starred review) – full review here.
"Interested in the difficult journeys we make as we encounter life's sometimes terrifying, often unfair challenges, Carpenter gives much here that will resonate powerfully with readers. A promising and impressive work that in many places is riveting." – Library Journal (starred review).
"Language and mystery intertwine in Minnesotan Scott Dominic Carpenter's compelling debut novel, "Theory of Remainders," a fast-paced, well-written story that is a perfect summer read for thinking people." – Mary Ann Grossmann, St. Paul Pioneer Press
"This not only should be on your must-read list, it should be on your read it again and again one. It is poetry, suspense, life-changing reader revelation. Nothing I have read in the last three or four years even comes close." – John Lehman, Rosebud Book Reviews
"Carpenter does a masterful job of conjuring a complicated psychological and cultural landscape. The exotic locale only heightens the mystery, as Carpenter dips into regional history to show how an entire town can be shaped by the burden of grief." — Amy Goetzman, MinnPost
"An extraordinarily gifted writer."— Alice LaPlante, author of Turn of Mind (New York Times Editor's Choice)
"Hair-raising… certain scenes call to mind the erudite exchanges with Hannibal Lecter."— Jeff Pieters, Rochester Post-Bulletin
"Like a chess master lining up his pieces for the checkmate, Carpenter expertly places the variables of this mystery. It's an imaginative tour of the mind via language and landscape."— Nathan Bergstedt, Grand Rapids Herald-Review
"Theory of Remainders provides the reader with an emotionally rich portrayal of the experience of loss that looks past easy solutions and instead digs deep into human connections."— Alison Feigh, Jacob Wetterling Resource Center
"Words have meaning beyond what Webster says about them. They have sound. They have music. Novelist Scott Dominic Carpenter is better at playing them than most. Reading Theory of Remainders is akin to solving a linguistic puzzle in which every utterance may have a hidden definition."— Reader review via Goodreads