Kindness in the written word

Once in a while, a book comes along that sweeps you off your feet. When you read it, you don't want it to end. And when that book's theme is kindness, for me, that's the clincher.

A dear friend recently recommended the book "Theo of Golden" to me. She even kindly loaned me her copy, which I still have and will soon return to her.

The author is Allen Levi, and this is his debut novel. I enjoy "researching" (translation: Googling) the authors of the books I read, and this was no exception. Mr. Levi hails from Columbus, Georgia; he modeled the town of Golden after his city. I have never been to Columbus, but after reading the book, I would love to visit and look for all of the landmarks that he describes.

Here is what Goodreads had to say about the novel:

"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."

Possibly my favorite quote from the novel sums up one of the themes:

"For anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it. There must be love for the gift itself, love for the subject being depicted or the story being told, and love for the audience. Whether the art is sculpture, farming, teaching, lawmaking, medicine, music, or raising a child, if love is not in it — at the very heart of it — it might be skillful, marketable, or popular but I doubt it is truly good. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core."

As with most novels, I like not knowing much about the story before I read it. And so I will not tell you more. Except to paraphrase what my friend said. She said that the wonderful thing about Theo is that he made the people he met believe in their worth. Would that we all could do the same.

Of course, I am recommending "Theo of Golden" to you. There are, as with all books, negative reviews out there. You be the judge.

If you have a story you'd like to share here in the Fernandina Observer — about a neighbor or friend or stranger or business that showed you kindness, or about kindness and compassion in general — please contact Peggie Weeks at pegweeks@gmail.com