Back There

Reviewed by Kimberly Holt-Whitlock © 2006

Wild Child Publishing.com © 2006

Title: Back There
Author: Howard Waldman
Publisher: BeWrite Books
Genre: Contemporary/Literary
ISBN Number (if applicable): 1-904492-88-6
Release date: 2005

Harry Grossman appears to have hit the proverbial bottom of the barrel when he unexpectedly wins a two week trip to Paris. Once there, much to the chagrin of his overbearing sister, Ida, his weeks turn into months as he wanders the streets of Paris following his newly found passion for photography.

While photographing wall graffiti, he is caught up in a protest, beaten by police, and rescued by a boy he's met only just met. After the protest incident, Olivier takes him to his family's home, and Harry immediately falls in "love" with Olivier's older sister, Francoise.

To keep a close link to the family (who in the beginning of the book are the Auriers, but eventually, I realized the name had changed to Laurier, though I couldn't pinpoint when) he plans a "language exchange" with the younger Aurier/Laurier daughter, Pascale, who is only a few years younger than himself.

We follow the same old Harry for the bulk of the story. A man afraid to commit to anything but his "art". He eventually leaves a pregnant Pascale in France, venturing back to the states, a one-way ticket in hand, to deal with his mess of a publisher. It is not until the end of the novel that he realizes that perhaps his life could have and should have had more meaningful things in it.

The characters were unique and lovable at points, though my favorite character, Roger, only made a very brief appearance in the beginning of the novel. And the setting was very nicely done, dropping you into Paris headfirst. Overall, the novel itself is beautifully written, however the story does tend to drag along a bit as the action of the piece is overshadowed by the prose itself.

I give "Back There" three cats.