Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

 genre: contemporary fiction

When Theo arrives in the small Southern town of Golden, Georgia, he doesn't really have any huge plans.  He appreciates that it's warmer than his New York home and the way the river flowing by reminds him of his Portuguese childhood.  Although he is no longer a young man, by any measure, his heart is youthful and he finds pleasure in beauty wherever he can find it - and there is much to find in Golden.  When he sees some hand drawn portraits in the local coffee shop, soon his mind is occupied by both the faces in these pictures and the hand that drew them.

Theo's way of showing up in the world is a lovely thing to read. His interest, his kindness, his appreciation, all of this made him an interesting person to get to know.  Are the characters in this book a little simply drawn?  Maybe, but not so much that I wasn't able to suspend my disbelief and slide into the story. It got a little long and sometimes a bit too theologically preachy but I liked how it wrapped up at the end and I did like the cozy community Theo created.  Probably for the writing it deserves a three but for the cozy factor and some of the beautiful images I'm still thinking about I'm giving it a four.