June 15, 2025
Published in 2023, I selected this book due to the average review for it being incredibly high, one of the closest to 5 stars I have seen. Upon finishing it, I wavered on making this a 2 or 3 star review (since can’t give 2.5) and finally dropped it down to 2 as I really just wanted to book to be over almost from the time I started it.
The premise seemed intriguing enough- an old man purchases portraits from a local artist, locates the person depicted, and bequeaths the portrait to them. The tagline for the cover was “Stories are told; friendships are born; and lives are changed.” Given the current atmosphere, I looked forward to a book that was going to focus on generosity and kindness.
But the first portrait that captures Theo’s attention is of a man whose child was injured in a car accident. We later find out it was caused by a driver who fell asleep and who was “an illegal”. The tone of this brief passage made me stop a second and wonder if this was going to be a maga supporter book. As such it made me feel a tad uncomfortable where this story of kindness was headed and exactly whose idea of kindness and Christian-like behavior we were going to witness.
Then the second portrait highlighted was that of a woman who Theo thought seemed sad. When he bequeaths her with the drawing, this woman tells Theo, a total stranger, her whole life history including that her cold, awful dad had “made” her get an abortion as a college student vs bringing disgrace on the family. She was now a successful CPA but was indeed very unhappy. She tells Theo she wants to be “just a housewife”. That would make her so happy. The way this conversation was written gave me pause again on so many levels. It just did not sit well with me at all. And it started to feel a bit preachy.
Soon Theo meets rascally Tony the bookshop owner. He seems like a big joker or clown always teasing others. He ridicules Theo for believing in heaven. It is at this point that I realize the author is indeed a religious man. And while the genre is listed as Literary Fiction, the book is definitely leaning heavily towards being a Christian book. So you know Tony is going to have a come to Jesus moment later in this book (pun intended lol).
Overall I found it tedious and just kept pushing on through the chapters, frequently skimming the flowery,extraneous sections of which there were many. The text felt forced and flat, and just, I don’t know, like the author thought the reader wasn’t that perceptive. I saw another reviewer used the term Pollyannaish to describe this book and that is spot on for me. The scenarios seemed pretty unlikely and many of the conversations were unrealistic IMO. I suppose the premise of the book is that Theo can elicit heartfelt responses from others but to witness so many strangers telling him their deepest darkest secrets and regrets and fears just was way over the top for me.
There were parts I did enjoy such as the empathy and kindnesses that Theo showered on those around him. For example he tells one woman that he picked her portrait as the first to be bequeathed because she looked like the kindest person of all the portraits on the wall, You can feel how that compliment touches her deeply. I also did like the ripple effects from Theo’s words and actions.
The ending felt abrupt but at least tied everything up fairly cleanly.
So while the premise of the story was one i desperately wanted to love and enjoy, the manner in which it was written failed to resonate with me. I don’t think I was the right demographic for it perhaps.
The premise seemed intriguing enough- an old man purchases portraits from a local artist, locates the person depicted, and bequeaths the portrait to them. The tagline for the cover was “Stories are told; friendships are born; and lives are changed.” Given the current atmosphere, I looked forward to a book that was going to focus on generosity and kindness.
But the first portrait that captures Theo’s attention is of a man whose child was injured in a car accident. We later find out it was caused by a driver who fell asleep and who was “an illegal”. The tone of this brief passage made me stop a second and wonder if this was going to be a maga supporter book. As such it made me feel a tad uncomfortable where this story of kindness was headed and exactly whose idea of kindness and Christian-like behavior we were going to witness.
Then the second portrait highlighted was that of a woman who Theo thought seemed sad. When he bequeaths her with the drawing, this woman tells Theo, a total stranger, her whole life history including that her cold, awful dad had “made” her get an abortion as a college student vs bringing disgrace on the family. She was now a successful CPA but was indeed very unhappy. She tells Theo she wants to be “just a housewife”. That would make her so happy. The way this conversation was written gave me pause again on so many levels. It just did not sit well with me at all. And it started to feel a bit preachy.
Soon Theo meets rascally Tony the bookshop owner. He seems like a big joker or clown always teasing others. He ridicules Theo for believing in heaven. It is at this point that I realize the author is indeed a religious man. And while the genre is listed as Literary Fiction, the book is definitely leaning heavily towards being a Christian book. So you know Tony is going to have a come to Jesus moment later in this book (pun intended lol).
Overall I found it tedious and just kept pushing on through the chapters, frequently skimming the flowery,extraneous sections of which there were many. The text felt forced and flat, and just, I don’t know, like the author thought the reader wasn’t that perceptive. I saw another reviewer used the term Pollyannaish to describe this book and that is spot on for me. The scenarios seemed pretty unlikely and many of the conversations were unrealistic IMO. I suppose the premise of the book is that Theo can elicit heartfelt responses from others but to witness so many strangers telling him their deepest darkest secrets and regrets and fears just was way over the top for me.
There were parts I did enjoy such as the empathy and kindnesses that Theo showered on those around him. For example he tells one woman that he picked her portrait as the first to be bequeathed because she looked like the kindest person of all the portraits on the wall, You can feel how that compliment touches her deeply. I also did like the ripple effects from Theo’s words and actions.
The ending felt abrupt but at least tied everything up fairly cleanly.
So while the premise of the story was one i desperately wanted to love and enjoy, the manner in which it was written failed to resonate with me. I don’t think I was the right demographic for it perhaps.
