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Theo of Golden by Allen Levi: Review, Movie and Sequel News, and Ending Explained

A self-published novel about an 86-year-old stranger who gives away portraits became a three-million-copy word-of-mouth hit. Hailey reviews Theo of Golden spoiler-free, rounds up what's reported about a Tom Hanks movie and a follow-up, recommends six books with the same gentle feeling, then, after a spoiler warning, explains the ending and who Theo really is.

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Books mentioned in this episode
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Chapters
0:00 Cold Open
0:24 Welcome
0:57 The Review
5:13 Movie And Sequel News
7:30 What To Read Next
10:12 Spoiler Warning
10:30 The Ending Explained
15:50 Outro

Scores, the full written review and the videos

Narrated by Hailey, the Book Explained host voice (AI-generated with Kokoro TTS).

Music
"Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Fresh Air" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Disquiet" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0