The book Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is a book that I will be thinking about for years. This is a book that I think will become a modern classic.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is a literary fiction book published in 2023. When I finished it last week, I knew it would be the perfect book to feature for Fiction Friday.
This book was the reminder I needed to slow down and pay attention to the people around me. To really pay attention. To observe. To listen. To care about their life and struggles.
We live in a world that is constantly rushing from one thing to another. We scroll social media and know so much about events all around the world. But do we know the people right in front of us? Do we know those in our community?
Do I care about the lives of people I don’t know more than the ones right in front of me? What am I doing to help those around me?
Those are the questions I kept asking myself after reading Theo of Golden.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi was all over social media and the book world in 2025. I saw it on so many best-of-book lists. I assumed it was published in 2025 until a friend let me borrow her copy to read and realized it was actually published in 2023.
Theo of Golden was originally an independently published book in 2023. It was then picked up by Atria Books and published in 2025.
I think Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is a masterpiece. It is a beautifully written book about an older gentleman who visits a small town in the southern U.S.
When I mark up a fiction book this much, you know that it is one that I enjoy.
Theo visits a coffee shop where a local artist sells pencil portraits. Theo decides to start purchasing the portraits and gives them to the person featured in the picture.
By doing this, Theo learns about the stories of Golden and the people who live there. He learns to care for them, and they for Theo.
But as Theo learns about the people of Golden, the people of Golden know very little about Theo. However, as I read the book, I could tell that Theo had a story, and I could not wait to see how it unfolded.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is an inspiring story that reminded me of the beauty around me.
Life is full of problems, challenges, and difficulties, but there is still beauty all around us. To find beauty, though, we have to slow down and pay attention to the people around us. We have to stop and listen, truly listen, and learn about the lives around us.
Theo also teaches us to give. To give of our time and our resources. Everyone is struggling, and if we pay attention, we will find ways to help them. We just have to pay attention to what they need.
Allen Levi does a beautiful job describing nature, music, and art in Theo of Golden. He also does an amazing job describing the people of Golden.
Theo of Golden is a slow paced character driven book. I love those types of books. They are almost always five-star reads for me.
I also loved that this book has elements of faith without being a book about faith, so it is one that everyone can enjoy.
I think part of what makes Theo of Golden so good is that Allen Levi is not much younger than the character he is writing about. Allen Levi has lived life. He is a lawyer and musician. He has degrees in English, Law, and Scottish fiction. He is a singer and songwriter.
I am guessing that this book is so good because Allen Levi has lived life. He has observed the people and places around him, and he used his knowledge to write Theo of Golden.
This book was a five-star read for me. If you know me in person, you will probably get tired of hearing me talk about this book. I already told Grace that she needs to read it. I hope to convince my husband to listen to it on audio.
Theo of Golden is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I am so glad that I read it. I will be thinking about this book for years.
I definitely think Theo of Gold by Allen Levi has the potential to be a modern classic.
I will say that, although this is a five-star read for me, I can see why it wouldn’t be for everyone. This book is very character-driven. It was a slow read for me over the course of a week. I picked it up, read a few chapters, and set it down while I thought about what I had just read.
Theo of Golden is not a long book, you could read it in a day or two, but I don’t think it is meant to be read that way.
You need time to process this book and all the lessons that Theo has for us.
If you enjoy slow-paced, character-driven books, I think you will probably love this one as I do. But if you don’t like character-driven books, I doubt this will be a five-star read for you.
Have you read Theo of Golden?