By Jim Heffernan
One of my resolutions for the New Year is to read more fiction. This book was an excellent way to begin. My home page, refdesk.com, has been recommending it as a book of the month and I’m very glad I took their advice. Non-fiction seems to dwell too much on the dark side of what’s wrong, fiction can offer hope and joy.
“Theo of Golden” is a book of rare beauty that I read from start to finish, entranced by the writing, the narrative, and the mystery of who was Theo and where did he come from.
Theo is a mysterious old man who dropped off in the small town of Golden, Georgia by a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Town Car. He spends a year in the town and he is a positive influence on everyone he meets.
On his first morning in town, he wanders into a coffee shop where he is charmed by the portraits on the left, right, and rear walls. There are 92 of them in total. They are all lively faces and all are skillfully rendered in pencil on white paper. They are mounted in black frames. All were for sale and none were priced more than $200.
He resolves that each portrait should be in the possession of the person in the portrait. 400 pages of the book are divided into 62 chapters that describe his interactions with the townspeople he meets and what he sees in their portraits.
Theo is a fantasy hero. He has a superpower of truly looking into faces and really listening to people. Another superpower is that he manages to always strike just the right tone with each person to extract their story.
Here’s an excerpt that is the first letter he sends to a woman of the town. What would you do if you got a similar letter?
Dear Mrs. Prentiss,
We have never met, and I hope you will forgive me if it is inappropriate for a total stranger to approach you in this manner. I am an old man, 86 to be precise, and a newcomer to your town. I first saw you — actually, a pencil drawing of you — when I was at the Chalice on the Promenade a few days ago. As I studied your portrait, Mrs. Prentiss, I had a strong sense that it belonged in your possession or in the possession of someone dear to you. After all, it only seems right that the finished work should go to the one who inspired it. And so, I took the liberty of purchasing the piece with one purpose in mind. I would deem it an honor, and it would be a great kindness to me, if you would accept the portrait as a gift, to do with as you please. Might I make a proposal? (And I do so beg your pardon if this is entirely out of line.) Next week, on Thursday, at seven o’clock in the evening, I will be sitting on a bench beside the fountain in the median nearest the Chalice. To make myself obvious, in case there are multiple exquisitely handsome 86-year-old men sitting there at the same time, I will be the one wearing a heather green flat cap. It should only take a moment to give you the portrait, though I will have plenty of time to visit should you be inclined and able to do so. Lest you find this all very odd and out of sorts, let me assure you I am a harmless old man, a widower, a father, a toothless lion with only innocent intentions. If, as has been said, it is more blessed to give than to receive, my happiness in putting the picture in your hands will be more than adequate recompense for my purchase. I look forward to meeting you.
With kindest regards,
Theo
The book was self-published in 2023 but became a bestseller in 2025 when a major publisher discovered it. This is the author’s first novel and a wonderful achievement for a 70-year-old. It is available at Cloud and Leaf Bookstore, Manzanita and Tillamook County Library. (I was pleased to see there are 21 people on the wait list for the book and 231 people on the wait list for the e-book book. It’s a “Happy New Year!” for me to see so many readers in our small county.)
As always, discussion is welcome at codger817@gmail.com.