September Bookmonger Society Pick: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
A stranger in a small Southern town. A wall of portraits. The gentlest book you'll read all year.
Event Description
Look, we've had a year of it. We've trauma-bonded our way through John of John, Wild Dark Shore, Broken Country and The Names, and we've come out the other side closer, wiser, and slightly in need of a cuddle.
So this month, we're doing something different. We're giving you the warm hug you've earned.
Theo of Golden is the book everyone's been quietly pressing into everyone else's hands, and once you've read it you'll understand why. It's the reading equivalent of the good chair by the fire: a cup of tea someone else made, and a soft blanket over your knees. Gentle, quietly funny and unashamedly kind, and yes, it will still make you cry, just in the nice way this time.
Join us for one of two evenings of great discussion, wine, charcuterie and community. No emotional damage this time, we promise.
🗓️ Tuesday, 29 September | 7:30 p.m.
🗓️ Wednesday, 30 September | 7:30 p.m.
About the Book
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. Mr. Theo is elderly, courteous and entirely unexplained. He takes a room, walks the riverbank, and begins quietly buying pencil portraits from the wall of a local coffeehouse.
Then he starts giving them away, returning each portrait to the person in it, asking nothing in return but their story.
What follows is a year in the life of a town: a bookseller, a barista, an artist with a secret, a woman living rough by the river, all of them drawn into the orbit of a man whose own reasons for coming to Golden only become clear at the very end.
About Allen Levi
Allen Levi is a lawyer-turned-singer-songwriter from Hamilton, Georgia, who wrote his first novel in his late sixties. The idea found him in a coffeehouse where 92 pencil portraits of local people hung on the wall. He bought four of them, and started wondering.
Three and a half years later, he and his niece self-published the result themselves, hoping to shift a thousand copies. Readers did the rest. It has now sold over a million, hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, and a follow-up, Ellen of Golden, is on the way.
Praise for Theo of Golden
"To Kill a Mockingbird for this generation." — The Dallas Morning News
"A word-of-mouth smash hit." — The New York Times
"An emotional and heartwarming tale." — USA Today
Ticket Options
🎟️ Paperback Admission — £25
Includes a paperback copy of Theo of Golden plus full event access.
🎧 Audiobook Admission — £25
Includes a Libro.fm credit for Theo of Golden plus full event access.
📚 Swap Ticket — £25
Already have a copy? Choose the swap option and pop in to select another paperback or audiobook of your choosing instead.
What's Included
- Your choice of paperback, audiobook, or swap book ticket
- A complimentary Bookmonger charcuterie board to share
- Book discussion hosted by Caitlyn Payne, owner of The Bookmonger
- Kahoot! trivia with prizes
- Wine, soft drinks and beer available to purchase on the night
Coming Alone?
Many of our Bookmonger Society members attend solo, and we love that. Our gatherings are friendly, relaxed and welcoming, and we'll help you settle in from the moment you arrive.
Refund Policy
Due to the intimate size of our event space, we plan for every member and every seat counts.
In the rare event that The Bookmonger cancels, refunds will be issued for the admission portion only. The retail value of the book will be deducted, and the book will still be yours to keep.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable to future events. Thank you for your understanding, it helps us keep these evenings running for everyone. Given enough time, we can try to re-sell your ticket.
Choose options