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Theo of Golden by Allen LeviPublished by Atria Books on November 11, 2025
Age Group & Genres: Adult, Literary Fiction
Format: Physical
Source: Library
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than he answers.
Theo visits the local coffeehouse, where ninety-two pencil portraits hang on the walls, portraits of the people of Golden done by a local artist. He begins purchasing them, one at a time, and putting them back in the hands of their “rightful owners.” With each exchange, a story is told, a friendship born, and a life altered.
A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted novel about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another.
DNF @ 21%.
Imagine a random 86-year-old man who just arrived in your small town (called Golden) going through the work of finding your address and sending you a letter going, “You don’t know me but I’m completely new to this town and I’m harmless! There’s just something about your face in that portrait I see at this local cafe – please meet me; I’d like to give you a gift.” No return address, no last name, nothing except for their first name. That’s basically what Theo of Golden is: repetitive, uncomfortable, and off-putting.
And I know what some will say, “But, Hannah, you’re missing the point! Theo of Golden talks about how we need more kindness, compassion, and empathy with each other in a world that is constantly cynical! You’re exactly why this book needs to exist!”
But y’all. I know addresses are public info (if you pay your property taxes lol) and this is a work of fiction, but it’s just weird to go through all of that effort over a portrait. It does not sit right with me that a consultant who needs to keep client information confidential is helping a rando track down addresses, and it does not sit right with me that the names (not just the first; first and last name) of the subjects are just on the back of the portraits especially when there are minors involved as well. I’m no professional photographer, but I frankly recall taking a photography class where children were involved and parents had to sign a release form – I’m not saying the artist behind the portraits didn’t do that, but it’s implied that he doesn’t. And even if there were no minors involved, I really think consent is important here.
And somehow they just willingly go and meet up with him, tell their life story essentially and they just… hug it out by the end? Maybe shed some tears? I’m sure there are plenty who will absolutely love this and overlook the issues I’ve had (and this is only scratching the surface, really), but I genuinely cannot. There are so many ways to talk about the need for kindness, compassion, and empathy, but this was not it.
(So sorry to my friends who endured me ranting about this book, sometimes at a very diabolical time of their day because of timezones. It turned from a quick grumble into a whole spiel, so I guess this book has been bothering me way more.)
Hannah has a penchant for chaos, which is probably how she ended up blogging since 2012. That, and she was probably too expressive for her parents to handle, so it had to go somewhere. She can be found occasionally at The Arts STL. If you’d like to fuel her boba addiction or just enjoy her posts and want to support her, stop by her KoFi or Buy Me a Coffee!