A MUST READ

Oh my gosh!   Everyone go on an adventure with Allen Levi's first novel about Theo, a very kind and well off man from Portugal.   He shows up in the southern city of Golden in Georgia.   Upon entering a coffee shop there are 92 pencil portraits of local people.   They are for sale and the name of the subject appears on the back of each sketch.   He decides to buy them all and give each portrait to the individual who is the subject.   The appropriate address is discovered.   A polite letter is written offering the portrait if they will meet him near a fountain on the Main Street.

"As the story progresses, Theo makes more 'bestowals' of portraits to unsuspecting residents of Golden, and his friendships with them deepen.   Tony, Vietnam veteran who runs the local bookstore becomes a particularly close friend.   Ellen, an emotionally troubled woman, is another.   Person by person, Theo collects and nurtures a group of people, each of whom he insists is capable of 'saintliness', whether they believe it or not."    The author also has a talent for painting with words.   

There are surprises as the book progresses and those unknown readings provide a story that contains the most wonderful writing.  When reading the Amazon comments, one appears that really says it all.   A mother buys three copies of the book and gives one to each of her children, asking them to read it over the next year as a Mother's Day gift.

I totally recommend this read for everyone.  The author shares the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the far reaching possibilities of anonymous kindness.   It is self-published.   Allen Levi  is an  attorney, judge, singer/songwriter and author, this being his first novel.   I've never seen a book that came out with so many 5-star ratings as this wonderful piece of literature.