Customer Reviews

Mr. Timothy

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Following the route of Gregory Maguire, Louis Bayard has taken a fairly minor yet memorable literary character and revisits him at another point in time. Entirely successful with a fun "DaVinci Code"-type caper (pacing not the puzzle), Mr. Timothy shines most with Bayard's Bob Cratchit ghost device/letters and depiction of filthy London. Ending is extremely touching and beautifully written a la Dickens; also loved clues of Tim's true sexual orientation: point did not dominate but made perfect sense. This one deserves the Masterpiece Theatre treatment--not the usual American-produced lard.
A wonderful, multi-tiered read.

This was a very good book. It follows the story of a grown up Tiny Tim, as he struggles in his adult life. The author does a wonderful job describing England and the time they live in. It is dark and a little disturbing, but a great read. I really enjoyed it.

The market has recently been deluged with authors trying to out-Mitchell Mitchell, out-Fleming Fleming, or out-Conan Doyle Conan Doyle. Most of these are nothing more than pulp fiction. Bayard's Dickens parody, on the other hand, complements the original in many ways.
MR. TIMOTHY does justice to Dickens in the way Bayard handles the grown-up Tim. Besides the limp, this Tiny Tim is nothing like the original. He's a cynical chap who's disappointed in himself for taking Scrooge's money. He's reduced to working in a bawdy house, teaching the madame how to read and write.
The plot is rather predictable. Bayard has transplanted a repugnant 21st century curse to the 19th century, pederasty. A young girl is found dead, branded with the letter "G"; then another girl is found with the same brand on her upper arm. The cause of death is unknown but the dead girls have frazzled, bloody fingernails. A homeless waif, Philomela, seems a likely candidate to become the next victim, and Tim becomes her protector.
Like Dickens, Bayard does his best work with minor characters. There's an Artful Dodger named Colin the Melodius, who serves as a sidekick to Tim. Then there's Gully, a retired sea captain who trolls the Thames for dead bodies. Timothy sometimes moonlights for Gully. Like Dickens, Bayard gives each of these minor characters a memorable characteristic. In Gully's case it's cats. His landlady is a cat lover; she has dozens of them, and they drive Gully crazy. But without a good villain you don't have much of a story and there's a good one here, in razor-wielding ex-policeman Rebbeck.
Timothy is also haunted by the ghost of his father. He sees him everywhere, but when he tries to make contact the man transforms into a stranger. Philomela has the same affliction. It's nice to think that our fathers watch over us, even after death.
Sure, some of this is a little hokey, but then again so was Dickens.

I read this book recently while visiting a friend (it was her copy) and it was so wonderful I have to have a copy of my own because I definitely want to reread the book. Soon. Yes, this is the story of "Tiny Tim Cratchit, all grown up," and, personally, I think Bayard did a wonderful job portraying the figure created by Dickens, though the book is probably darker than many readers would like it to be.

Mr. Timothy is a highly atmospheric novel and Bayard captures the quintessence of Victorian London perfectly. This is the world of orphans, starving children, starving adults, thieves and murderers that Dickens peppered his novels with. MR. TIMOTHY takes place in a London that's filthy, damp, moldy, sooty, muddy and dark.

MR. TIMOTHY isn't all atmosphere, though. Bayard also does a wonderful job with characterization. Although it would take a very hard-hearted person not to wish the best for Tiny Tim at the end of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Bayard has wisely resisted the urge to make everything "sweetness and light" for Tim Cratchit. And this despite the fact that his Uncle N (Uncle 'Neezer or Ebenezer) has left him some money so he isn't quite as destitute as most Londoners are.

Tim is far from wealthy, however. He lives in a brothel, his only payment being teaching its madam, Mrs. Ophelia Sharpe, to read. When he's not occupied in the brothel, Tim is with his friend, Captain Gully, trolling the Thames for dead bodies. (It's a moneymaking enterprise, believe it or not.) Not everything in Tim's life is bad, however. He's been able to discard his leg brace and crutch and he walks almost as well as any "normal" man does. And he does have friends.

Although MR. TIMOTHY is a wonderful creation in its own right and certainly not a sequel to A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Bayard does draw some parallels to the earlier book, all to MR. TIMOTHY'S good, I think. MR. TIMOTHY takes place during the Christmas season, just as A CHRISTMAS CAROL did, and, more importantly, there are ghosts in MR. TIMOTHY, but not the variety of ghosts that visited old Ebenezer. The ghosts in MR. TIMOTHY are far more real and they haunt Tim much more relentlessly than the ghosts in A CHRISTMAS CAROL haunted Ebenezer. In one passage, Tim even utters, "I have a retinue of ghosts dogging my every footstep." Indeed he does, the most important of whom is the ghost of his own father, Bob Cratchit, dead only six months before the book's opening. Some of the most poignant passages in MR. TIMOTHY occur in Tim's letters to the dead Bob. It is in these letters that Bayard really develops the character of Tim Cratchit and breathes life into him.

Although Tim Cratchit grew up to be a melancholy, sardonic young man who lives each day with little hope for a better tomorrow, the book isn't all sad. Some of the scenes and set pieces are quite comedic but these are really few and far between, however they do offer relief from what would otherwise be unrelenting darkness.

At its heart, MR. TIMOTHY explores the theme of how we grow into the person we are. What shapes us? What causes us to want the things we do? What drives us? Why do we make the choices we make? I think Bayard did a very good job of answering these questions and I felt quite satisfied after finishing the book.

Bayard has not only captured the atmospheric moodiness of Dickens, he's peopled MR. TIMOTHY with a cast of characters that one might think stepped out of a Dickens' novel and into this book. There is Tim, of course, and Gully and Mrs. Sharpe. But there are wonderful children as well: Philomela, a "wee poppet," and just about as Dickensian as any character can get, as well as Colin, a very Dickensian boy.

I loved reading MR. TIMOTHY so much I didn't want it to end. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because the ending felt rather contrived and "forced" to me. Although I felt satisfied, I would have preferred it had Bayard ended the book on a quieter note. That might just be personal preference, though.

MR. TIMOTHY, although encompassing some comic moments, is, overall, a dark book and one certainly worthy of being set in 19th century London. Anyone who loves Dickens, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, or 19th century literature will probably love MR. TIMOTHY. People who "just can't stand Dickens," however, should probably give this book a pass as well.

Tiny Tim from Dickens "A Christmas Carol" is now all grown up and living in a whore house. That alone was enough to make me want to read this book. Wonderfully imagined by Louis Bayard, Tim becomes obsessed with the bodies of two young girls who both bear the same brand on their bodies. It's tone and pacing are reminiscent of Caleb Carr's "The Alienist",as the mystery unfolds in London's dark underbelly. Peppered with characters from the source material it serves as a dark and thrilling "sequel" to a beloved classic. An enjoyable read.

Mr. Timothy is an amazing book in many ways. A compelling mystery, a trip back in time, and a chance to relish wonderful writing from the first page to the last. The writer displays true genius in his prose and narrative drive, while creating an accessible and fascinating story that will please thriller and literature fans alike.

Just kidding...i don't think louis bayard is a thief for taking the characters from 'a christmas carol' and creating a sequel. Afterall, scrooge is a minor character here and tiny tim's 'not so tiny any more, that's a fact.' Bayard expands from the point of what became of timothy cratchit after scrooge's conversion. He was as good as his word and looked after his clerk's children, especially timothy, who got all the best doctors, private teachers, and a regular allowance, even in his adulthood. The stipend does not allow luxury, but gives Timothy a rather leisurely life.
so what does become of tiny tim? he still has a limp, lives in a brothel, and has become the protector of a reluctant young girl, who apparently has come to the attention of a pedophile ring. for allies, timothy has colin the melodious (ok, maybe bayard did steal the artful dodger and renamed him) and a one-handed sailor named gully. his father has recently died, but timothy still sees his ghost (or at least thinks he does).
Timothy is a torn character: he knows he is fortunate to have scrooge as his benefactor, but at the same time abhors his reliance on him; he misses his father, but also remembers his faults. Bayard pulls you in thinking everything must have turned out rosy, but it's not so. I was thoroughly engrossed with this book. I think he captured 1860's london wonderfully. His characters, each and everyone, is fully depicted and engaging. And the book is full of mystery and thrills besides. A masterful work...i hope timothy's adventures continue.

This is a sequel to A Christmas Carol, starring a grown up Tiny Tim Cratchit. It's a fine book, but it's not the book that Dickens would have written, had he chosen to do so. For one thing, this book has some curse words in it that Dickens wouldn't have been allowed to use even if he wanted to. But the vulgarities here are appropritate to the characters, so I have no objections to them. Louis Bayard does a fine job of evoking the London of 1860, and I think a lot of people will enjoy this book. But some people may be disappointed that Ebenezer Scrooge has a relatively small part in this book.

Being a big fan of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, I was eager to pick this book up and see where Bayard was going to take Tiny Tim as an emerging adult.

I didn't expect what this story had to offer, but as Bayard was loyal to Dickens, he shows us another dark facet of England. The collection and sale (in effect) of very young girls to the upper crust of society. And Mr. Timothy Cratchit as its unlikely hero.

The language of the book remained true throughout - and the combination of characters fit all the roles I would have expected in a Dickens tale. And while the story itself sometimes stuttered with strange asides tossed in to create time for other things to happen or to show which character was on which side - it wasn't the story itself I found myself taken by.

I particularly enjoyed the italicized letters that Tim wrote to his deceased father. The language and ideas of a life overlooked, of the love one might feel for one's parent not realized until it was too late. Of Tim as an adult trying to realize who he is going to be and not having his father to help him through this hardest of times. And realizing how much irritation and anger and impatience he spent on his father when alive as he is haunted by his father's ghost out of the corner of his eye. All of this as Bayard takes Tim on a journey to seek his own family, his own home.

Tim's letters to his father were the icing on the cake that made me truly enjoy this book and this one line in particular cemented Tim's missed feelings - "You had spent months, apparently, determining this configuration -- poring over maps, consulting with omnibus drivers, timing every leg of every day's journey. Had I been older, I would have realised: here is a man who wants to come home."

Bayard is a startlingly fine writer who has made a number of smart decisions with this novel. It's not a sequel to A Christmas Carol, as some readers assume. It's a great thriller that makes just the right use of its source material, slyly dropping in details that are a delight if you know your Dickens, but in no way detract if you're just reading it as a tightly contructed historical thriller.

Remarkable. Definitely a writer to watch.