|
In 1843, Charles Dickens brought us A CHRISTMAS CAROL and introduced us to Tiny Tim, a pitiable lad who stole our hearts. That fateful Christmas when young Tim hobbled around in wretched style, old Ebenezer Scrooge spent a fitful night with three ghosts who taught him some hard lessons about stinginess. Now, Louis Bayard shows us Timothy Cratchit in his 23rd year, grown up yet still quite a charmer. And "Uncle N," despite some unwise money handling, pledges a monthly stipend to Tim and demands very little in return --- just the occasional visit.
It is the 1860s, and young Mr. Cratchit has found himself lodging in a bawdy house, tutoring the madam in reading in exchange for the room. He leads a comfortable life, his crutch cast off long ago, leaving him with a limp and some residual stiffness. The only thing haunting him now is his father --- recently dead --- who accompanies him on walks or appears atop stone walls with one leg swinging down or perches himself out on a pier with a fishing pole. Tim composes letters to him, searching for peace from every infraction a child commits against his father in a lifetime. In so doing, he writes some very eloquent words. He comes to understand what the dead need from the living, and what the living seek from the dead.
One day, shortly before Christmas, Tim happens upon a small corpse, that of a child in her preteens, branded with a grotesque "G." Not long after that, he is confronted with another. He can't leave it alone. He finds himself enchanted by the mystery and engrossed in the chase.
As Timothy is dealing with his personal ghosts, he catches a glimpse of a girl fleeing through the streets below his window. Their eyes meet for the briefest of moments, but it is long enough to send him in search of her. Colin the Melodious, a shifty youthful character whose trustworthiness is questionable, teams up with Timothy in the quest --- for a fee, of course. Surprisingly, maybe even for Colin, the nocturnal waif is found, a foreign child named Philomela. A bond is quickly formed and the three begin the arduous task of unraveling the mystery of the branded girls while they themselves try to stay alive.
As with A CHRISTMAS CAROL, the story takes place one ancient Christmas, with the fogs of London shrouding the streets with the eerie unknown. If any thriller can be said to be heartwarming, this spellbinder from Louis Bayard is just such a thriller. Throughout its too-few pages, Mr. Bayard's characters stay true to themselves and to their time, showing great complexity and some well-placed irreverence. They come fairly alive on the pages.
I had never thought of Tiny Tim in his 20s, but Bayard's imagination has blessed us with an excellent look at the fellow as a young adult and fashioned a superb tale at the same time. And if Dickens were here to read MR. TIMOTHY, I believe he might smile broadly, even chuckle, well pleased. It is cleverly written with just the right combination of droll wit, sidelong glances at 19th-century London and headlong suspense.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
 Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
