WHEN I RESERVED Theo of Golden through my regional library system, I ranked as number 300 on the waiting list for this New York Times bestseller by Allen Levi. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a longer reserve list.
But within about two months I had the book, recommended by my dear friend Valerie, in hand. She read it in four days. I finished this fictional story in 10 days, primarily because I took notes to write this review.
One would not necessarily expect a novel published in 2023 to still be so popular. But, after reading Theo of Golden, I understand its ongoing appeal. This is one of those books everyone needs to read. Let me repeat. Every. Single. Person. It’s that good.
EVERYONE HAS A STORY
Goodness, kindness and generosity center the story of octogenarian Theo who arrives in Golden, Georgia, from New York City. He soon settles in, slowly connecting, building friendships, bestowing blessings. He does that by purchasing portraits of locals displayed in a coffee shop and then arranging to meet the subjects beside a central fountain.
And that is where this story takes root. Theo looks into the eyes of the people he meets, draws out their stories, their sadness, their strengths in one-on-one conversations. He listens. He cares. He encourages. He gifts them with their portraits drawn by local artist Asher Glissen.
What’s important to emphasize here is that none of this is about Theo. He intentionally doesn’t reveal his last name. He artfully dodges questions about himself. The focus is always on the individual before him, the face he sees. Theo wants to hear the stories behind each face in every portrait.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING
That is one of the “lessons” that threads through this novel. How often do people try to one-up a story, shift a conversation onto themselves and away from the storyteller? Happens all the time. Theo values every individual, gives them grace, gives them voice. He listens intently, not with the ear of someone waiting to interject his own story.
He listens to Tony, Vietnam veteran and owner of the Verbivore bookshop. He listens to Ellen, who is experiencing homelessness but who is brilliant, artistically-gifted and worthy of hearing. He listens to Simone, a gifted student of the cello. He listens to Minnette with her own secrets and dream of becoming a mother. He listens indirectly to the story of Mateo Mandez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala. Yes, this book is relevant to today.
Theo tells every person he meets during his bestowals of portraits that they are capable of saintliness. Imagine if you heard that. And when he encounters individuals while out and about and engages in “sidewalk chats,” he listens with genuine, not surface, interest.
RELATABLE, EMOTIONAL
I cried several times while reading this novel. The book is not without heartache, tragedy, cruelty, violence, meanness, disappointments and suffering. The stories therein are real. Often relatable. But it is a book which, at its core, centers on treating others with respect, kindness, goodness and love.
“DO UNTO OTHERS…”
As I read page after page, story after story in this remarkable first novel by Allen Levi, my mind kept returning to the title, Theo of Golden. Why “Golden?” The answer that repeatedly popped into my thoughts was “The Golden Rule” of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The author quotes Scripture, the influence of Levi’s faith clear in his writing, but not in a preachy sort of way.
Today, more than ever, we need a book like Theo of Golden to remind us to be kind, loving, forgiving. To listen. To encourage. To uplift. To think before we speak or write. To be like Theo, the mysterious stranger who showed up in Golden, Georgia, and forever changed a community with his kindness.
THOUGHTS? I’d like to hear your thoughts on Theo of Golden, whether you’ve read the book or just read my, or another, review.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Honoring America locally in red, white & blue July 1, 2026
Tags: 250th birthday of America, America, birthday of America, book display, books, Books on Central, commentary, Dundas, Faribault, flowers, Fourth of July, holiday, July 4, July Fourth, Keepers Antique Shop, Minnesota, patriotic clothing, patriotism, red white and blue, Statue of Liberty puzzle, window display
RED, WHITE AND BLUE banner everyday life annually around this time each year. I’m talking not only U.S. flags flying from poles, but much more. And this July 4, the 250th birthday of our nation, American pride seems especially abundant. Or maybe I’m simply noticing because of the milestone celebration.
Whatever, I challenge you to see how your friends and neighbors, local businesses, churches and other organizations are celebrating and/or running with the July 4 theme.
Locally, I found plenty of examples in expected, and unexpected, places. At Keepers Antique Shop along Central Avenue in Faribault, I always expect proprietor Nona Boyes to create a window display appropriately themed to a particular event. She didn’t disappoint, staging two mannequins draped in red, white and blue holding an American flag between them. The patriotic theme carries to a corner curio and additional window space. Boyes’ art education and background show in every single window display she creates for her antique shop.
Across the street at Books on Central, I happened upon another July Fourth display, this one atop a table. Because this is a used bookshop, books center the space created by volunteer Jeanne Campbell with assistance from Mary Campbell.
Books about the White House, “The Star Spangled Banner” and Alexander Hamilton are for sale along with other volumes artfully placed among mini American flags, a Betsy Ross statue and touches of red and white ribbon. “We the People—A Pictorial Celebration of America” and “1776” by Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough are also among the selections.
If you really want to get to the basics, you’ll find a pocket book of the U.S. Constitution propped in a front window display themed to celebrating the birth of this country.
To the north on Central Avenue, Fashions on Central promoted a RED WHITE BLUE SALE on a sandwich chalkboard.
At the State Bank of Faribault, an American flag graces a lush pot of flowers outside the bank’s front entry.
But it was red flowers planted in galvanized tubs and backdropping white hydrangea that drew my admiration for July Fourth floral plantings. I was en route to a garage sale in a south-side Faribault neighborhood when I spotted the work of gardener Kay, who planted red, white and blue flowers throughout her yard. She wasn’t home when I stopped. But her husband, Paul, promised to pass along my praise.
When I stopped at an estate sale, I purchased an unusual piece of art perfect for the Fourth of July. For $3, I snagged a puzzle of the Statue of Liberty pieced together by Gerda Dolman of Madison, Minnesota, when she was 100 years old. She lived to nearly 102, dying in 2021. Her son mounted the puzzle on wood. Gerda’s Lady Liberty now hangs on my dining room wall, a visual reminder of freedom, liberty and hope for all who came, and continue to come, to America. Like Gerda’s Norwegian ancestors.
As we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, I focus on those foundational words of liberty and freedom. I hope others do, too, as they don patriotic attire, enjoy parades and BBQs, watch fireworks, and consider all this nation has endured from the Revolutionary War to present.
This message lifted from the tabletop display at Books on Central says it all: “For 250 years, we have maintained and loved this country that was created as the great American experiment, an exercise in self-governance and respect and freedom. Long may this great experiment reign, cherished and supported by those it protects and honors. Happy birthday to the United States of America!”
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling