Theo who?
Readers of this No. 1 New York Times-bestselling novel don’t find out his last name until the very end of the book, and for good reason. We just know this 86-year-old character as Theo of Golden, a fictional town in the South where he moves to quite mysteriously from his New York City home.
As an avid reader and observer of what books people are talking about, I kept hearing about Theo over and over again in my bookish social media feeds. At first I thought Theo was a child, but when one of my book clubs picked the book and I finally cracked it open, I met the most endearing elderly man, a character I was more than willing to walk with through the streets of Golden.
Soon after Theo arrives in town, he visits a coffee shop where the baristas brew up a cup of java that nearly matches the coffee perfection of his native Portugal. Theo is kind, unhurried, and notices everything, which is why he takes the time to examine the hundred or so pencil portraits of local residents that hang on the coffee shop’s walls.
Though Theo’s ultimate purpose is not revealed until the end of the book, he finds meaning by buying the portraits, sketched by a gifted local artist, and giving them to their subjects one by one. In this way he goes from a stranger in town to a friend, meeting with the portraits’ subjects and hearing their stories. Whether the recipient of his “bestowals,” as he calls them, is an unhoused woman with mental health challenges or a brilliant student cellist, a single father janitor or a street busker, Theo meets each person just where they are in life. After meeting with Theo, people feel seen, like Hagar in the wilderness encountering the God she named “El Roi,” “the God who sees.”
Theo sees the imago dei in each person, no matter how they treat him or receive his gifts. He exemplifies how the power of compassion, presence, and generosity can change people’s lives.
This read lived up to the hype for me. Some readers have found it slow and a bit preachy, but to me the gentle, lingering nature of the book was a healing balm, and the spiritual elements were artfully, if not explicitly, woven in.
If you are looking for a comfort read that will cause you to reflect and ponder its glimmering insights, Theo is for you. If your book club wants to have a compelling and possibly rousing discussion, look no further than Golden and its newest resident. You will never forget the quirky, real, and oh-so-human characters that propel these pages. You will never forget Theo of Golden. (Atria)