Feel good books are the recommendations that have come my way lately. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is one of them.
Mysterious Theo arrives in Golden, Georgia, and soon makes himself at home in the local coffee shop. Coffee as good as the best of Europe, and he should know. On the walls of the coffee shop are charcoal portraits drawn by a local artist. Again, his discerning eye knows talent when he sees it. Why are all these beautiful portraits unclaimed by their subjects? Theo decides on his newest project. He will buy the portraits, one at a time, and give them to the person drawn.
He does this, sends a charming handwritten letter inviting the person to meet him; he “bestows” the portrait. He meets the artist, a cellist, homeless woman, the father of an injured young girl, all of whom become his friends.
In addition to the portraits, the plot is held together by the mysteries surrounding Theo. Why has he come to Golden and why is he so kindly? He is wealthy, but humble; beautifully dressed, but subtle; generous, but not self-aggrandizing. After a while, the tone becomes saccharine, but yet…
The book was originally self-published then went viral. Why do so many love this story? I think that people are hungry for decency. Everyone is exhausted from the degenerate behavior we are forced to witness every day, and so we turn to a modern fairy tale, soothing and escapist, not the best thing ever written, but lovely.
The subject of Alive Until You’re Dead by Susan Moon won’t surprise anyone. She is a Buddhist who has some ideas about how best to live with old age, a condition that will affect most of us.
Practice the virtue of compassion. “…monks should have the spirit of grandparents who without regard for whether they themselves are hot or cold, shade or cover the child.” She calls it grandmother mind. It is a way of behaving that is directed to the whole earth, not just people, “…look after water and grain with compassionate care as though tending your own children.”
An especially pertinent chapter was the one on doing with less in old age and letting go of things no longer needed. The author had Zoom meetings with four other women, the Stuffragettes, to sort and give away things. At the beginning of the session they would show and discuss the current project, then they would check in once in a while to see how each was doing. One woman, cleaning her refrigerator, found a chocolate Easter bunny whose best by date was nineteen years previous. It had become a fixture she didn’t see. A different story about throwing away a pile of ratty file folders, especially resonated.
Many of the subjects are serious, illness, loss, and dying, but the author approaches them with good humor. She models the Zen way of accepting things as they are, not ignoring them nor wishing they were different. Also, not knowing is ok.
She tells the story of a samurai who asks his Zen master, Where will you go after you die? Master: How am I supposed to know? Samurai: You’re a Zen master. Master: But not a dead one!
The Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters stars Jacqueline Kirby as the librarian sleuth. Kirby goes to Rome for the summer where she meets seven students, some who are artists and others, archeologists, all involved in a similar program. When one of them is killed and another has several “accidents,” her detective abilities kick in.
The mystery is loaded with information about early Christian history and the relics of Rome. Peters is more well known for her other archeology inclined sleuth, Amelia Peabody of Egypt fame. This Kirby series, written alongside the other, also deals with ancient ruins and legends as well as the beautiful Italian city. It takes a while to get the characters straight and I finally wrote them down. But soon I was caught up in the plot which has a wonderful twist and is lots of fun. It’s an old mystery, published in 1972, but worth seeking out.
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