Theo is a novella by award-winning British author, Paul Torday. The enthisiasm that John Elliott brought to his position as vicar at the Church of St John of Arimathea some two years ago has waned. Despite his best efforts, he still only has a congregation of sixteen, and raising funds for upkeep is an unrewardded chore. The love of his life, Christine is a primary school teacher, and it is when he is helping her with her class’s indoor football game that he first meets nine-year-old Theo. Affable and polite, is John’s first impression.

But there’s something strange about Theo: injuries to his hands that seem to heal very quickly; later it appears his feet, his head and his chest are similarly afflicted. These are witnessed several times. The school’s Domestic Violence Protection Officer is convinced that Theo’s parents are to blame, but his mother, Mary and stepfather George exhibit only love for the boy. John wonders if this could be something else. And his visits to Alfred Stone, the former vicar, now in a mental institution, reinforce this.

This novella is quite eerie: it’s easy to see what the reader is meant to believe, but there’s no neat resolution provided, no final answer given. What Torday does do is provoke thought about religious belief, about vocation, about mental illness and medication. And it appears that this novella is a prequel to Light Shining in the Forest, so perhaps more will be revealed therein. Different from Torday’s previous works, but in keeping with his aim to write in different genres.