Clémentine Mélois, a finalist for the 93rd prix des Deux Magots with her novel Choses que je croyais perdues, explores what she calls the "infraordinary" — the overlooked, everyday aspects of life that carry deep emotional weight. Her work draws inspiration from writers like Georges Perec and James Joyce, who also focused on the mundane and the poetic in daily existence. The novel follows Émilie, a character forced to leave her apartment after a breakup with Tristan. This move is not just physical but symbolic of an emotional rupture, reflecting the way personal relationships can reshape one’s life and environment. Mélois, who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, places herself in a literary tradition that includes writers such as Raymond Queneau, Roland Topor, and Jean-Pierre Montal. She often reflects on the rich literary history of places like Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a historic district in Paris known for its intellectual and artistic culture. In Choses que je croyais perdues, objects like a broken mustard glass and a gold-edged plate are central to the story. These items are not just possessions but vessels of memory, connecting the characters to their past experiences and relationships. Mélois clarifies that she is not focused on materialism but on the memories attached to objects, rather than the objects themselves. The novel also incorporates fragments from old newspaper clippings, highlighting the intersection of the mundane and the poetic in everyday life. Mélois draws a parallel between Émilie's situation and the myth of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, who undid her work at night. This reference underscores the tension between past and future, and the idea of suspended time. The story contrasts Émilie’s working-class background and her longing for a conventional life with Tristan’s more detached, bourgeois existence. Mélois aims to show the banality of a failed relationship, emphasizing how differences in background and perspective can lead to emotional distance. The title Choses que je croyais perdues (Things I Thought Were Lost) is inspired by a line from Georges Perros’s Une vie ordinaire (An Ordinary Life), reinforcing the novel’s focus on the everyday. Mélois rejects nostalgia, instead seeing memory as a material for transformation rather than a place of refuge. The novel avoids melancholy, using humor to explore themes of loss and time. The winner of the prix des Deux Magots 2026 will be announced on October 5.