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Theo of Golden

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Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Originally self-published, this bestselling contemporary novel is a doozy. I can see why it’s popular with book groups, but perhaps it should come with some content warnings. I found it to be deliberately bittersweet in tone, and this is definitely not a gentle read.

This novel is about the impact one 86-year-old man has on the town of Golden, Georgia. Theo is fascinated by portraits displayed in a coffee shop, all featuring local residents, and he is very admiring of the local artist, Asher Glissen. Theo decides to buy some of them, and give the portraits to their subjects. He writes each a letter, and invites them to meet him by a fountain. Many do meet him by the fountain, and share some of their life stories, which are often sad, even heart wrenching. Theo’s kindness does make life in Golden sweeter for many.

Theo is also generous and helps a number of Golden residents, usually anonymously, including a little girl and a gifted musician. Theo, who never shared his full name, doesn’t talk much about himself. He does speak of growing up near vineyards in Portugal, and tells a few of a long-ago tragedy. Theo clearly loves music, literature, art, coffee, and conversation. His daily ritual is to watch the sunset by a river. The ending is quite abrupt, and secrets are revealed.  

Brenda

American Fantasy

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American Fantasy by Emma Straub

A beach read, definitely, but so much more, though not a happy ever after one. American Fantasy is a cruise ship on a four-day cruise from Miami to a private island in the Bahamas and then back to Miami. Boy Talk was a famous (fictional) boy band in the 1990s which still has a large and mostly female fan base known as the Talkers. The four guys are Shawn, Scotty who is gay and now out, Terrence, Shawn’s younger brother Keith, and Corey, the youngest. Shawn is in charge, Terrence is weird, Corey is trouble, and only Corey and Keith can really sing well. None of them are song writers. Bobby is their manager and Sarah is the event manager on the cruise.

Annie is 50 and very recently divorced. She has one grown daughter and works in marketing for an opera magazine. She was planning to go on the cruise with her younger sister Katharine, who’s home with a broken leg. Annie liked Boy Talk, but Katherine was a much bigger fan. Too late to cancel the cruise, Annie is sharing a cabin with a stranger named Maira. Okay, I can see Annie going on the cruise solo, but rooming with a stranger? Not so much. But Maira has been on multiple Boy Talk themed cruises and know where to sit to see the guys up close and what the best drinks are. There is way too much drinking, not enough sleep, weird costumes, random encounters, and lots of screaming women.

Keith and Annie are both fish out of water, definitely out of their element. Keith loves singing and likes the applause, but really only likes Scotty, and especially doesn’t like his brother. Annie learns she may be losing her job to an intern, and is searching for what’s next. She does enjoy being around so many other women close in age, and also perimenopausal. Neither Annie or Keith are happy, but they are very interesting characters to read about. I wasn’t a fan of a boy band, but Straub paints a vivid picture of an imaginary cruise where almost anything goes.

Brenda

The White Octopus Hotel

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The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell

Imagine visiting a luxury hotel in the Swiss alps, reached by ferry or, in winter, a sleigh. The hotel has a wonderful aquatic spa, numerous fountains, and is decorated with white octopuses and clocks. Also, the hotel is probably haunted. Add in time travel, and the scene is set.

Eve Shaw has a small, quiet life, ever since a family tragedy when she was a little girl. She feels haunted by rabbits and apples, with a nod to Alice in Wonderland. Eve is an art appraiser and loves music. She meets an elderly composer, then travels to the White Octopus Hotel in 2015. Her room is designated for time travelers, and she opens her door and steps into 1935 and 1918, still at the hotel, as well as the present. She meets some of the same people in each time, and participates in a treasure hunt which may give her a prize to change her past.

Eve meets Max, who is haunted by his friends who never made it home from World War I. They explore the hotel and its grounds together, and Eve even glimpses herself as a child, along with her mother. No money is collected from Eve for her stay; her payment is the memories of her time at the hotel. Octopuses are everywhere, including on a unusual tattoo on her leg. Her hotel room has a magical wardrobe, which opens to reveal just the right outfit she’ll need for the next adventure, which fits perfectly.

Magical, often melancholy, and luxurious, the White Octopus hotel is a wondrous setting for a compelling read.

Brenda