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I Never Saw Paris: A Novel of the Afterlife

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We all have our secret worlds and Harry Freund seems to know them all. When a group of New Yorkers are suddenly killed by an out of control car they all end up in an afterlife of sorts. What follows is a conversation and reflection between and within the characters with of course a final judgement.

Although other authors have utilized the same format, Freund's conclusion is really that all of us are interconnected in the game of life...or as John Lennon put it," Life is what happans when you're making plans to do other things".

A quick, hilarious and enjoyable read.

This is one of the most moving and intriguing books you will ever read. It is a gripping tale of life - and the afterlife - which examines the foibles and failings of human existence with wit, compassion and understanding. It will reshape the way you look at the world as well as your role in it. This is as an absolute MUST read - you won't regret it.

"I Never Saw Paris" is an unexpectedly profound, creative account of death and the afterlife, as seen through the eyes of a wealthy New York City businessman named Irv who narrates his journey to the "Big Upstairs" and a special judgment we all must face. Irv is unexpectedly whisked "upstairs" due to a bus accident in midtown, along with several other people who are not fundamentally alike and and yet share a special and very believable bond. I found the book refreshing, spiritual and yet hard-edged in a good way. I don't usually read fiction, but this book met my criteria of tight writing (no extra verbiage here), along with suspense and a special kind of compassion. Highly recommended.

In Manhattan, four people wait on the sidewalk for chance to cross Park Ave when a car jumps the curb killing each of them and the driver. The group of strangers consists of sexagenarian businessman Irving Caldman, fifty something personal shopper for the wealthy Clarissa Bowen; grandmother Essie Mae Rowder employed as a housemaid; twentyish interior decorator Brett Taylor; and the driver Mendel Perlow who survived the holocaust to own a New York candy store.

Malakh welcomes the group at a heavenly rest stop where he prepares the quintet for their upcoming worthiness before the Judge of the Universe. He orders each to share their life history with the others. At first none of the five are comfortable revealing their inner most fears and desires, but over the course of bickering and fighting, each opens up revealing good and bad memories as a camaraderie forms.

This is a fabulous parable with an interesting spin on how heaven works and what it takes to get there as deeds count. The story line focuses on all five recently deceased mortals with Irving as the prime player with his dry assertion that he never saw Paris nor will he at least in that lifetime. Readers will appreciate Harry I. Freund's insightful look at five strangers going through the stages of a group (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Terminating as Malakh moves them on) while also the stages of grief for those they left behind.

Harriet Klausner

I NEVER SAW PARIS: A Novel of the Afterlife, by Harry I. Freund (204 pgs., 2007). This is only the second novel published by this businessman & philanthropist. For someone who is not a career writer, this is one damn fine novel. I think I'm going to have to hunt out his debut novel: Love With Noodles.
One day, Irving Caldman, a 64-year old businessman is going shopping for blue dress shirts his wife has told him to buy because they are on sale. He is standing on a street corner in Manhattan waiting for the light to change. Standing near him are three other pedestrians he does not know. Suddenly, a car driven by a man seemingly asleep at the wheel plows into this group. All of them are killed instantly. Soon, all are ascending together into the sky, supposedly to heaven.
Accompanying Irving, are Clarissa Bowen, an attractive woman in her 50's who is a professional shopper; Essie Mae Rowder, an African-American grandmother who still works as a housekeeper; Brett Taylor, a gay man in his 20's who says he works as an interior designer but in reality is a gay escort/prostitute; & the driver of the car. The driver is Mendel Perlow, an elderly widow, candy storeowner & Holocaust survivor. He suffered a heart attack while at the wheel of his car.
They are met by the Angel Malakh who tells them he will lead them through their initial judgment period & get them ready for the court that will pronounce final judgment on each of them. During this process, we learn each of their most hidden & darkest secrets. We learn all the good & all the bad each has done in their lives. Surprisingly, in a short time, this small group of dead people became friends. They cared about the fate of each other. None would leave the group to face individual judgment, even though some knew they'd be granted a short cut right into heaven. Other angels, and an Archangel & even a Seraph are sent to argue with them? The bulk of the book is made up of the arguments for this group sticking together & not letting some unseen judges stick it to them. They also think there is some reason they were all killed at the same time & brought together in this way. One good-natured angel tells them a one-word clue, "Paris." This is the little mystery within the plot.
The book ends with a final argument before G-d, or at least we think it's G-d. Can mere humans prevail over the will of G-d & his representatives? I don't want to give away the ending, but this book will put grins on the faces of its readers.

On his way to a department store a 64-year-old businessman is killed with two others when a sleepy driver jumps the curb and kills them - but Irving finds himself on a journey to heaven instead of the Paris trip he planned with his wife, and discovers his soul is bound with the others killed for a week before they will all move on to judgment. Their life stories come to light in a funny novel of change and afterworld concerns in I NEVER SAW PARIS.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Books and movies about what happens immediately after death have been popular for a long time. The story might be about a confused soul wandering among the living while trying to figure out what happens next, about angels who guide the newly dead across the River Jordan, or about someone having one last chance to defend his life before his final destination is determined. In I Never Saw Paris, Harry Freund wonders what might happen if a several people killed in the same accident were to face that final judgment together.

When four New Yorkers waiting on the sidewalk to cross the street are crushed by a car whose driver has been struck by a fatal heart attack, all five of the newly dead find themselves face-to-face with Malakh, an angel who is there to prepare them for the court appearance that will decide their fate. Malakh requires each to practice for that court date by explaining his life in front of the others and he keeps them relatively honest by prodding them in the right direction with scenes from their past that usually show them at their worst.

But Malakh is in for a surprise when the little group bonds so tightly that his job becomes a bit of a challenge. Suddenly the Holocaust survivor, the young man who made a nice living as a gay prostitute, the elderly black woman who knows the Bible almost by heart, the rich socialite whose only purpose in life was to shop at the best stores, and the powerful businessman who cheated on his wife with a vengeance realize that they are all in this together.

Harry Freund makes the point that life is long enough for most people to slip now and then by doing things that they are ashamed of for the rest of their lives. But some slip more often, and in more serious ways, than others. I Never Saw Paris is a hopeful look about what might happen when it comes time to explain ourselves. This is one of those rare books that I enjoyed despite not really liking a single character in the story, human or angel. That is an accomplishment in itself.

I Never Saw Paris seems to me to be an improvement over Mitch Albom's book about the afterlife, the people you meet in heaven. In this book a diverse group of people including an elderly housemaid, a middle-aged shop-aholic, a Holocaust survivor, a gay male prostitute, and a wealthy New York businessman lose their lives in an accident and are processed be a series of angles in the afterlife. It is a book that will make you evaluate your own life as well as involve you in the lives of these desperate individuals. I highly recommend it.

We all know that none of us is promised tomorrow; our eternity may begin at any moment. In this story a car, out of control, takes the lives of a group of strangers on the corner of a street in New York City. These strangers find themselves grouped together and are confronted by an Angel named Malakh, who is to help prepare them for their day before the Judge of the Universe who will decide where their next destination will be.Scary thought isn't it?
In this read these strangers bear their lives on earth in an attempt to bring forth things that they should be prepared to explain and defend before the Judge. As each story progresses you find a mix of emotions within the people. Memories are shared, both good and bad, as each is made to confront their past in one way or another, but the one thing this group does find is unity and a bond forms bringing this story to a conclusion that you may not expect.
I have to say, I thought I would read about souls truly making their way to Paradise,at least the way I perceive Paradise and the afterlife to be. The author totally took me by surprise in this book. However, for those that want a different slant on what happens after death than you may expect, you will enjoy this read, for it does show how a group of stranger overcame and with united strength achieved a victory, even in the afterlife.

A car careens out of control, jumps the curb and a second later 64 year-old Irving Caldman and four other Manhattan, New York residents are dead! At first Irving is observing the scene of his demise and wondering about those who were around him. But then Angel Malakh arrives to guide these five souls through the first phase of their heavenly judgment!

It's review time - a chance to take a close, personal and honest look at one's life that will determine the future of each shocked soul. Meet Clarissa Bowen, grand personal shopper for the rich and famous. She's persistently clear about refined or shoddy taste but not so clear about the father of her daughter, Twinky. Then there's Brett Taylor, unmarried and an interior decorator, whose sexual life stuns his listeners. Of course, there's bound to be a fervently religious character, Essie Mae Rowder, whose life as a domestic required much sacrifice and a dark secret of notoriety. And just what would life be like for Mendel Perlow if his focus moved from his Holocaust memories to the reality before him?

Irving is flabbergasted as he realizes his life story will probably kill the other four again with shock and anger in comparison with what he perceives as petty misdeeds in the other four pre-judgment characters.

Seeing the blessings and curses of one's existence makes for a medley of pride and shame but not necessarily clarity about how it all fits into the heavenly scheme of things. Who will help them? This angel?

Angel Malakh, however, doesn't quite fit the proverbial picture of the comforting, guardian type angels most humans imagine. He calls the shots but eventually must surrender to the most surprising ending the reader would never imagine!

Whether you agree, disagree, or muddle somewhere in the middle of this pre-judgment scenario, you will definitely not forget this unique tale that leaves the reader intimately examining one's own life journey and asking many questions about the hereafter!

Interesting, remarkable and unforgettable story, Harry Freund!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on September 29, 2007