This year the author also celebrated his 70th birthday. Allen Levi’s “Theo from Golden” (translated from English by Inga Čepulienė, editor Ingrida Daračienė) is presented to Lithuanian readers by the publisher “Baltos lankos”.
From the drawer to international success
Former lawyer A. Levi worked as an attorney in his hometown of Columbus (Georgia, USA) during the 1980s, then moved to Scotland, where he studied Scottish literature at the University of Edinburgh.
After returning, he continued his legal practice for another three years until in 1996 he finally chose the path of a musician and became an independent songwriter. He wrote the novel simply as a personal challenge. According to “The Washington Post,” the author planned to put the manuscript in a drawer, but friends persuaded him to share it with the world.
In 2023, news about the self-published book began to spread by word of mouth – by the end of that year, about 3,000 copies had been sold, and in 2024 sales grew to 25,000 copies.
Having gained attention, A. Levi consciously rejected offers from Christian literature publishers, not wanting the work to be confined to too narrow a framework. Eventually, the publishing rights were acquired by “Atria Books,” part of the major US publishing group “Simon & Schuster.”
Currently, more than 2.5 million copies of “Theo from Golden” have been sold in the US, and the book has become a No. 1 “The New York Times” bestseller, publicly quoted by personalities such as Oprah Winfrey.
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What is this story about?
The book centers on 86-year-old Theo, who moves to live in a small town in the state of Georgia. Seeing 92 portraits of people drawn by a local artist in a local café, Theo decides to buy them all and personally deliver them to the depicted people or their relatives as a token of their life stories.
This is a slow-paced story without artificial drama – it is simply to be enjoyed. The main character is able to show the people he meets that they are important.
Change in publishing trends
Literary reviewers believe that the phenomenon of “Theo from Golden” was likely driven by changing reader needs. Against the backdrop of constant informational noise, readers seek literature that can restore faith in basic human connection. The book has been compared multiple times to the popular series “Ted Lasso”: although the plots are completely different, both works teach empathy, humanity, and the ability to build community.
This novel is like confirmation that among horror, detective, thriller, and fantasy genres, there is a significant place for stories that captivate with simplicity about everyday life and (un)ordinary lives of people.
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