THEO OF GOLDEN BOOK CLUB - WEEK 9 - CHAPTERS 41-45

THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi

I'm not going to comment as much as I typically do on the reading this week. A lot of this week's focus is about Kendrick and Lamisha meeting Mr. Mendez, the man that caused the accident killing Lamisha's mother and seriously injuring Lamisha. We learn that Mr. Mendez is an illegal here in the US whose American-born daughter is suffering from cancer. His desire is to be close to his daughter as any father would want. We all know the topic of illegals is a hot-button right now, and it's not my desire to turn this book club into a political warzone. We each know how we stand on the issue, and while it is an extremely moving (and out-of-the-ordinary) happening, I'm going to leave it at that.

We also deal with the hot-button topic of a broken legal system. Kendrick was arrested for something he "didden do," but he was too poor to hire a good lawyer and ended up in jail. Again. this is a subject that could potentially cause more disagreement then benefit, so I'm just going to leave it at that..

I think the thing to take away from this part of the book is the truth pointed out that we rarely look in people's faces and really see each other. in today's world. I'm going to stretch this way beyond the boundaries of illegals and broken legal systems to say we are all guilty of this. Often times, we are too engrossed in our phones or too busy with our overpacked schedules to take the extra moment it requires, and we're suffering as a society because of it.

There's two more things I want to mention for these chapters.

The first is that at the beginning of Chapter 41, we have this focus on Theo's physical state. He grips the handrail tightly going down the steps. When he is startled, it takes him what I would consider longer than usual to catch his breath. I may be completely blowing this out of proportion, but I continue to think that Theo is dying.

The river also catches my attention. Originally, I thought maybe we had a metaphorical connection between the river and Theo when I read this chapter, but there are comparisons and contrasts between the two of them. For example, both have hidden things under the surface (a comparison), but the river is deathless, and Theo is not. You can go through each point made and compare or contrast them.

The last part to talk about is Theo's celebration of Tony. Theo's gift to Tony of the port wine is a revealing of a bit of himself. The beauty of the culture that Theo grew up in caused him to be aware of how the littlest things change everything. Detail is important. From this heartfelt story, Tony shares another piece of himself, the story of his best friend Bobbo. I really find myself asking how one man can endure so much pain, and the truth is many couldn't. They came home and were never able to speak about what happened to them. Bobbo's sharing of his faith with Tony made him hope when Bobbo died that maybe there was an "end with a future." Almost oxymoronic, isn't it? But oh the truth that resides in that statement! Now, Tony has the little New Testament that bears the scars of that time. He hasn't bought into the idea of Christianity, yet. He's still wrestling with his demons. I'm hoping for Tony there's an "end with a future" coming.

Thoughts? I'd love to hear them!