I Never Saw Paris
Harry I. Freund
Reviewed by Amy
Lignor
They say big things come in small packages. This statement could not be more correct when
referring to this book.
Irving Caldman runs to a department store to buy blue shirts
on the advice of his wife. They will be
leaving
for Paris in a few days
and his
wife believes that blue brings out the color in his eyes.
As he is standing on the corner, with three
other people, he and the group are struck down by a driver who has
fallen
asleep at the wheel.
The group ascends into heaven and is greeted by an angel,
Malakh. I love this character. He is not a fresh-faced cherub full of love
and light. He’s more like a stringent
professor
in college who wants to “move this along.”
He has a lot of people to see and doesn’t have time for messing
around. Malakh lets them know that there
are not enough angels to go around for the millions of souls entering
everyday
from gang shootings, terrorism, etc. (A very poignant moment in a book
full of
poignant stories). Malakh is the one
leading the deceased group through the first “lap” of their journey, to
get
through the Pearly Gates and enter the Kingdom.
For seven days, the deceased must tell their sins – their life
stories
with all the good and bad they’ve accomplished – to this angel in order
to move
on.
So, in order to justify and evaluate their “earthly
existences,” the four begin to narrate their stories.
Essie is a wonderful character whose love of
the Lord is never tested. She’s held
onto her beliefs through poverty, death – thick and thin – and is most
likely a
shoe-in, with only a small sin over her eighty-eight years on Earth. Clarissa is a personal shopper.
She’s extremely funny and, although she did
do something wrong in the past, she should still be all right on the
other
side. Brett is a young interior
decorator who has gone through quite a bit more and the driver, Mendel,
is an Auschwitz
survivor. His story is not only
heart-breaking, but he has a sense of humor that shines through even at
the
toughest moments. Now, poor Irv, is not
the best guy. Not a horrible sinner, but
certainly, as Malakh tells him, he’s messed with a “top ten”
commandment quite
liberally. His story, his life, his
humor, is very poignant and his “in your face” tactics with the
increasingly
rude angel is enjoyable to say the least.
They ask many questions on whether or not justice can be
served upon a sinner by an angel. Can
angels judge a life they’ve never lived?
Interesting question. And after
the seven days of working through these questions, the group will stand
before
the High Court and be judged on which way their headed.
There is one line that I believe sums up this book.
The author says at one point that every
person is a complete little world of their own moving around in a big
world. This is so true.
Some may look at a situation and call it
humble or necessary for the greater good, while others would look on it
as a
sin. Read this book. It
will not only be an enjoyable hour or two
out of your lives, Dear Readers, but it will also make you think. Enjoy it!