What do You think about Timothy Of The Cay (2005)?
Several years ago, we read and I reviewed Theodore Taylor’s earlier novel, The Cay, set in 1942, in which a young white boy, eleven year old Phillip, and an old black man, seventyish Timothy, are stranded for three months on a small sandy cay in the Caribbean Sea following the torpedoing by a German U-boat of the S. S. Hato on which they were sailing. Phillip was blinded by flying debris, and Timothy taught him how to survive before dying. It is a very worthwhile book. Timothy of the Cay is referred to as a “prequel-sequel” which tells the rest of their tale in alternating chapters. Beginning with Phillip’s rescue, it follows the boy, now twelve, and his parents as they visit doctors who talk of operations which might restore his sight and give him the opportunity of going to view the cay with his own eyes. Also, it goes back to show the early life of Timothy Gumbs and how, as a young man growing up in Back o’ All on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, he desired to became a seaman and eventually captain of his own boat. Did Timothy make his dream a reality? Will Phillip ever see again? And can he achieve his goal of visiting the cay? In a gentle way, the book deals with the subject of racial prejudice, and it also demonstrates the qualities of courage and tenacity. The “d” word is used a couple of times, unnecessarily so in my estimation, and there is one reference to drinking rum. Some younger readers may find the going back and forth between Phillip and Timothy a little confusing. However, we did this as a family read aloud, and everyone agreed that it was an interesting account. My edition has a “Reader Chat Page” in the back with some thought questions about the story.
—Wayne S.
This book is about a young boy named Phillip who lost his eye sight years ago. At first Phillip was very apprehensive to let the black man named Timothy become his friend, his savior, but after he leaves the island and after Timothy dies he can't stop thinking about him. He also still talkes to him and still lookes for advice from him even though heis dead.My favorite part of this book is when Phillip gets his eye sight back and gose to the "cay" where he was stranded. I like this part because the whole time he was stranded there he was compleatly blind and he could't see what he was living on. Also he was able to be close to Timothy again.
—Bryer
There were a lot of great parts in this Survival book "Timothy Of The Cay" by Theodore Taylor.This was a sequel of the survival book "the Cay" where two people get stranded on an island for several months until timothy the adult passes away he leaves Phillip on the island by himself on the treacherous island. This book was all about Timothy's childhood through segregation which is the main conflict in the book.This book taught me what its like to be truly human, with everything that timothy went through he still had a blast with life he was very street smart int his book. This book is recommended to people who like books about segregation and historical fiction.
—Michael Stakits
