r/BookDiscussions • u/Lost_Maintenance_741 • 4h ago

Help me Understand Why Everyone Loves Theo of Golden

Reading it now, because I have to - for book group. Gah, it feels like a Hallmark Special. I'm only about 40 pages in but I don't have high hopes for it to get more real or interesting or 3-dimensional. Am I wrong in this pessimism?

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1

u/uncertainhope 4h ago

I did not finish it. I could not get past the Christian undertones. I do not understand the hype.

1

u/ImLittleNana 3h ago

Thank you for this insight. I need to free up 1/10 holds for something I won’t DNF 50 pages in.

1

u/varietyman13 4h ago

It’s a sweet book that makes you feel good about people.

I don’t understand the people who say it’s the best book they’ve ever read, but everyone has their own taste

2

u/alohakoala 3h ago

I haven’t read it yet, but I sometimes find the “help me understand why people like xyz book” questions odd. The answer always seems to boil down to “people have different taste”

2

u/varietyman13 3h ago

I agree haha I manage a bookstore and I try to tell all our booksellers “we never judge what other people read, cause we’re all different people, and reading is always good”

Sometimes I laugh at the young people pursuing the intense classics, but I also enjoy the enthusiasm

2

u/alohakoala 3h ago

Haha I can’t judge anyone’s reading taste because I own a DVD copy of The Room and watch it at least once a year. Sometimes something bad is just fun.

1

u/varietyman13 41m ago

Hahaha I certainly understand. We all enjoy our trash outlets every once in a while

1

u/Unusual-Dependent-79 3h ago

Reading it now for bookclub. Heavy handed Christian themes, insufferable main character, brutally clunky dialogue, and flat characters so far, I am on p 158 for reference. I would have already put this one down if it weren't for book club. The reason I am planning on finishing it is so I can dissect exactly what I dislike about it with the group. Heavy handed is the term that keeps coming up for me with this book. Couldn't miss his messaging if you tried.

1

u/RevolutionaryBug2915 2h ago

You are going to hurt some people's tender feelings. If you criticize a book they like, you are criticizing them.

1

u/Geeeeeezzzzzzz1 1h ago

Also a book club selection- I couldn’t finish it, 200 plus pages and bored out of my mind. Went to book club and was told it got to it in the last few chapters! Can’t stand books that do that!! Read like a movie screen play. Way too much itty bitty super specific details- hated it. Most of my friends liked it. Made them slow down and enjoy wholesome content. So there you go.