Loved it! Beautifully written. HUMAN!!!!

Loved it

LOVED the book.

Loved it, cried often ! Loved the audio version!

Theo of Golden-Allen Levi, author; David Morse, narrator
When an 86-year-old Portuguese businessman comes to Golden, GA, to stay for an unknown period of time, he reveals nothing except for his first name, Theo. His manners, and his subtle acts of kindness begin to profoundly impact the lives of all those he meets. Who is Theo of Golden? The answer will probably surprise the reader, in the end, but it will never take away anything from the tale. What will happen is this, instead. The reader will wish that there was a real place called Golden and that they could go there and meet Theo too.
Theo’s soft-spoken, gentle tone of voice, using language indicating a mannerly background, helps him make friends as he quietly observes the lives and the beauty of everything surrounding him in Golden. Why did Theo arrive in Golden? Why does he not reveal anything about himself to most of the people? The answer to that question will likely surprise the reader, but it will not make the reader like him less. Theo is a man that people simply take to because of his gentlemanly, refined and noble demeanor.
When one day, he seems to randomly walk into a coffee shop and spy beautiful portraits hanging on the walls; he is intrigued. He doesn’t want them to be hidden away, and so he devises a plan to distribute them to each of the faces hanging in the frames on the wall. Will the people behind the faces be receptive when he contacts them? How will he choose whom he will contact first? Is it a good use of his finances?
Theo looks for messages about the subjects; he looks into the portraits themselves. He observes the faces and their expressions, imagines their joy and their pain. Still, he does see suffering in the faces of each of them, and when he meets them, he requests them to tell him a bit about themselves. He, however, remains an enigma. He never reveals himself. How can Theo remain unknown without people getting more curious about him?
Theo came to Golden with a purpose, but he revealed it to very few people. A solitary man, he appreciates his own privacy and thoughts, while he also seems to appreciate the privacy of others, unless they wish to share something of their lives with him. Often, they do, and then, when he gifts them their portrait, he moves on, but they remain somehow attached to him. He has a profoundly positive effect on all he meets, because of his mannerly ways, his softspoken voice and his questions that lead to interesting conversations that allow these people to unburden themselves. Why is Theo interested in these people and their lives?
Theo, too, has a past, but it is not revealed until the end, and his past, like most, contains sorrow, pain and loss, as well as success, wealth and happiness. He has come to Golden for a purpose, and that purpose is about offering kindness and friendship, discovering love and answers to questions he has about the choices he has made in his past. Does Theo regret some of the choices he has made? Can he right the wrongs of his life, the mistakes he has made?
As Theo learns about the warts and foibles of the faces in the portraits, he discovers their humanity, as well as his own. He accepts the damaged and successful, the gifted with the untalented, the angry with the calm, the educated with the uneducated, the evil with the good, and he accepts all with the same kind of integrity, and then, he offers all the same kind of respect. The people who know him think of him as an angel.
Because of his gentleness, he is largely left on his own to carry out his plan. He does not bother anyone, and few bother him. When he interacts with anyone, it is with a softness reminiscent of a time gone by, a time when people were not angry, were not compromised by the news or the influencers, were living simpler lives. There was chaos, there were disagreements, but there was no universal message shouting out at them, 24/7, causing tension.
So, who is Theo? No one seems to really know or be bothered by the not-knowing. He is accepted as a gentle old man with a kind heart and a religious faith that he follows each week. He is observant of all things around him, the people, places and the natural environment. He loves the river and often sits quietly there, thinking. He is a thoughtful man.
It isn’t until the very end that the truth behind Theo is revealed, and it will never be guessed by the reader. There are too many threads revealed, that unite his story, to guess them in advance, but they are beautifully knitted together to create a whole at the end. Who is Theo of Golden? How are the people he has met connected to him and each other? With patience the reader will discover all there is to know about this kind and wonderful person who has the same flaws and failings of us all.
My only criticisms of the book lie in the overly religious and liberal tone, especially at the end. Assuming that borders are useless and illegal aliens are all really good at heart, that dysfunctional people are all capable of successful lives, that all talented people reach the height of success, that all the ill and injured can recover enough to continue purposeful lives, that criminals all can reform their ways or are unjustly imprisoned, is a bit Pollyanna. Also, we all come from different backgrounds, and so one or another should never be assumed to be the one right way for everyone. However, the overriding messages are of justice and virtue, that war has deleterious effects on those involved, that kindness and compassion are true virtues, that people who have come here illegally for a better life are indeed facing a conundrum, but what of those who came the right way, that some people are unjustly imprisoned and the system favors those with money. I feel certain that the messages of hope and consideration, simple acceptance and lack of judgment, will overwhelm any criticism.
Theo seems to treasure even the least among us, appreciating and affording them the same respect and caring that his heart can offer to the most successful. Was he always this way? Choices, survival, forgiveness and compassion are the predominant messages the book projects. The names used for characters and places are significant. They are obviously carefully chosen. The Verbivore, the Chalice, The Glistens, Mr. Ponder, Pierce, etc., all convey an image, a painting in the mind of the reader, and after all, this story is about artists, artists of many kinds.
The audio’s narrator is amazing. His voice and his inflections are perfect.

A definite feel good Book. While the ending man not have been seen as beautiful it was Theo left an impression on everyone in town.