Timothy of the Cay

The Cay #2

by Theodore Taylor

For the millions who care about Timothy and young Phillip -- for all those who want to know more of Timothy's life before his fateful meeting with young Phillip and what happened to Phillip after he was rescued from the tiny island... Two young men. Two dreams. Their lives intersect on a tiny cay for three months, when one is over seventy and the other is only eleven. One of them died there. The other was forever changed by his encounter with the first.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Adventure, Classics, Middle Grade

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Wayne Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I choose the book "Timothy of the Cay" is because my friend recommended me to read it. Phillip Enright and his mother board the ship to S.S Hato to Virgina because his mom thinks it is unsafe to stay in Curacao. The ship gets torpedoed and Phillip gets blind and ends up staying with a black man named Timothy. Timothy and Phillip end up at a Cay. A few months later on the Cay there is a hurricane. Timothy saves Phillip life and puts his life in danger. Unfortuneately Timothy dies. Phillip gets saved by sailors and gets his vision back. My favaorite quote in the story is "Standing with his back to the storm, Timothy put my arms through the loops of rope, and then roped himself, behind me, to the tree." This quote is my favorite quote in the story because it shows how Timothy is trying to save Phillip's life. The author's writing style is really interesting because the story is being told by Timothy's perspective as an adult. I woud reccomend this book to everyone because not only it's a great book but it also tells readers what true friends are.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was delighted to find this book at the D.I. It’s a prequel-sequel to The Cay, written 28 years after the original story. In alternating chapters, we read about Timothy’s adventures before the book starts, and Phillip’s adventures afterwards. We already know from The Cay that Phillip eventually regained his eyesight, and that he wanted to visit his island again, so there were no surprises there. From what we learned of Timothy in The Cay, we can guess that his earlier life involved lots of racism on the part of white people, and again, there were no surprises. Jumping back and forth from one character to the other, and from one time frame to the other, was totally jarring. That, along with the lack of suspense, and no plot to speak of, caused me to lose interest fast. I’m sending the book back to the D.I.

[Courtney Niederer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one as much as The Cay. This story alternates between Timothy’s life before the Hato bombing and Phillip’s life after he was rescued. The author does such a good job of going back and forth and staying true to both characters. It was so good!

[★ℕłℂØℓҾ★ (Nix) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After rereading The Cay recently and loving it, I greatly enjoyed getting to read about Timothy's life and finding out what happened to Phillip after the events of that book.

[JC Roadman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book. Glad I read them both.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timothy Of The Cay Chapters 1-16

Timothy is little, he finally got a job on a boat as the cleaner because the
old one fell off a ladder. Timothy buys new shoes and races down to the dock with Tante Hannah but the ship is gone! A white boy had taken his job and the ship had left earlier than Timothy was told. After the word gets around that his ship left with out him Mama Geeches, a jumbi ridder, comes to his house and says that the next ship that he goes on will be goat mouth(bad luck.)if he doesn't pay her two dollars to rid the house of jumbi.(like black magic)Timothy doesn't pay! Timothy soons gets a job on a boat called the Bark Gertrude Theismann.

Phillip is older now. He has just gotten back from the cay and is bombarded with questions. He is soon returned to his parents and many X rays are taken in Curacao. Phillip is frustrated when he gets back home because he keeps bumping in to things and his mother is babying him and watching his every move. He goes to see a doctor and that doctor expaines what would probably happen to Phillip if he decides to undergo surgery to hopefully see again. Phillip is also taken to the doctor who would preform the surgery. He said that it is possible but the odds are not exactly in his favor. Phillip's Father leaves it up to Phillip to make the final decision if he wants the surgery or not. Phillip decides to get the surgery! What will happen?

Timothy Of The Cay Chapters 17-27

Timothy is now around sixty. He had a boat but he had to sell it. He took a ship to the Hettie Redd a boat of a dead friend, got a crew, and atempted to sail it back home with a dead guy in it but as Timothy suspected the ocean gods got mad, created a hurricane and sunk the ship. Timothy survived but the whole crew died. He went back to his home and got on another ship to work. The ship is called the Hato, the ship that Timothy was on when they where torpedoed. His story ends when Timothy swims to the raft.

Phillip goes into surgery and wakes up. He is greatfull that he did not die on the operating table but is frustrated that he cannot see yet. He doesn't see anything untill one day when he sees trees and the sun and bushes but it is just an hallusination and he cannot really see. One morning he opens his eyes to see a bright orange light... the sun! He jumps out of bed and goes to the window, he can see lights and cars and buildings! HE CAN SEE! He twirls around and runs through the halls of the hospital, the nurse calls his parents and they come as fast as they can. All the dad says is "Oh, Thank God!". They go home and are on their way to find the cay very soon! They travel on a ship and find a tour guide on another island that they stop at to lead then to the cay. The finally find the cay and the hut is still there! so is Timothy's grave! Phillip says "This b'dat outrageous cay, eh' Timothy?" and he hears Timothy's voice say "Dis be it Phill-eep..." and then it says, I wasn't dreaming. I don't know if Timothy really wasn't dead or if it was just his imagination.

Very good book, I recommend reading it after you read the cay!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For fans of The Cay, this prequel tells the story of Timothy who lived on the Virgin Island of St. Thomas. An orphan, he is taken in by a kind woman, and Timothy's dearest wish growing up is to be a ship's captain. However, he endures racism and hardship over the course of his life, and his last journey as a seventy-year-old man will be the sinking of the ship he is on with Phillip that then leads into the original book. Alternating chapters are a sequel of sorts as they show what happened to Phillip after he was rescued. Like the first book, this story is dated, and while it is written to show how racism is wrong, Timothy is written as a "magical negro" used to come to the aid of a white protagonist, which is a disappointing narrative trope.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable way to sum up a reading experience I began ten years ago. Although Timothy's chapters were a bit slow to read, I enjoyed Phillip's journey to regain his eyesight, and his continued connection with Timothy was beautiful. Ironically, Phillip's diagnosis is one that I myself received ten years ago, and "The Cay" was the first book I had read afterwards. Although I alone share this connection, I do believe that anyone who enjoyed "The Cay" really needs to read this book. Without saying too much, the last pages are simple yet beautiful, meaningful, and powerful. It made me smile!!

[Ammar Al-qura'n · Rating 4 out of 5]

Timothy of the Cay was a very interesting book. It was, in all honesty, an action-packed novel. It gives great background detail and has a superb plot. The Cay, another book written by Theodore Taylor, was also a fantastic story and one I enjoyed reading as much as this. The plot is filled with suspense and excitement. I hope Theodore Taylor comes out with new books that I can read and relate to.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Cay was magical, and Timothy of the Cay just didn't measure up. The flashing from character to character didn't work for me, because I didn't see any parallels or symbolism from one storyline to the other. It ended up disjointed and unsatisfying.

[Becky S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great follow up of the first book. I loved how the stories of the two main characters were continued and Timothy's childhood was filled in. Phillipe has to have surgery on his eyes and that is always hard.

[Emily]

This book is the sequel to The Cay, I wounld reccommend it as a must read..

[William C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

sad but really good ending i think it is well diserved for the books age.

[Camryn Plemons · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, but not nearly as good as the Cay was. In my opinion, The Cay was way better.

[Anth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember in secondary school in the early 90s our English teacher got us to read a book about a blind English boy being shipwrecked with an old man from the Carribean. I didn’t particularly like it and I didn’t pay much attention to it but it always stuck in my head. As I got older I wanted to find out what happened in the story.

I was about 13 back then and last week, when looking for something new to read, at the grand old age of 45, I stumbled upon the synopsis for The Cay and knew it had to be it.

I read it in a day and this sounds really cheesy but it really touched me somewhere deep inside. Timothy is such an amazing character and person and I found myself becoming emotionally attached to him the same way the blind boy does as the story progresses.

This prequel isn’t as good as the first book but I have to give it five stars because it’s more of Timothy and it’s good to find out what happens to the boy after The Cay.

Both books are brilliant and The Cay is a masterpiece.

[AMY · Rating 3 out of 5]

161 pages. This book is a prequel to The Cay and explains the background story of Timothy. The young man he helped save in the ship attack is consulting with doctors and deciding whether or not to have surgery to restore his eyesight. The book has lots of controversial language and tension that is understandable in context of the timing of the story. However, it might not be appropriate for elementary kids today. It would definitely need some discussion as to the times and how the world operated and affected the characters in adverse and other ways. You can definitely see growth in Phillip’s character and this book will haunt a reader for many reasons. I am recommending it is needing to be weeded for elementary level, but it might be beneficial for older kids to read it with a set of books set in WWII for another perspective to history, especially in the Caribbean area. The reading level is about 5-6th grade. Be advised, this one is problematic and tough. Good luck.

[Stephen Mataganog · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good friend of mine recommended this book to me. I had never heard of it before. I am so very glad she did. Even though it is considered a children's book, it is very detailed and chocked full of history and geography that I knew nothing about. I found myself looking up places, food, plants/trees and more. It made me think. As for the story itself, is a heartfelt tale about inner strength, courage and determination. It follows to different people in two different timelines. Which they did a great job of, so younger ones can easily follow. I highly recommend this book.
I get that I am a big softy and tear up easy, but if you don't tear up at this tale you may want to see a doctor. LOL.
Oh, and I found out that this is a prequel to a book called "The Cay". You KNOW I'll be reading that soon!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written 28 years after the original story, Timothy of the Cay is a prequel-sequel to The Cay. The book shares both Timothy’s early life before the events written in The Cay and Phillip’s adventures after being rescued from the cay. Beginning with Phillip’s rescue, the book follows the boy 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. The book also shows Timothy’s desire to become a seaman and captain of his own ship.

I found the book to be very interesting, but alternating chapters could be confusing for some readers. The book deals with courage and tenacity and touches on some racial prejudice. The author used the “d” word a couple times, and there is a reference to drinking rum, but with guidance, the book could be used with younger readers.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told from alternating perspectives of Timothy of the Cay and young Phillip Enright as they tell of their personal experience both before their life on the Cay (Timothy) and life after being rescued from the Cay (Phillip). Together, they were abandoned on a tiny Cay and they found a way to survive even though one was in his 70s and the other was recently blinded.

Timothy's is a story of prejudice, coming-of-age, work ethics, and love. Phillip's is a story of love for a man who became his guiding light during a frightful difficult time as he is about to go into surgery to correct the problem that leads to his blindness. The lessons learned by both, at different times in their lives, are uplifting.

[David Rough · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This sequel to the classic novel, The Cay, was significant for the reader’s understanding of the two major characters of the original story. The novel went to two directions – backward to fill in the story of Timothy before the cay and forward to answer the questions and quest of Phillip after the cay.

For me, I appreciated the original story more than the follow-up. This novel had too much sailing/boating terminology for my limited knowledge of such skills. I think the island dialect would difficult for young readers to work through and some of the thoughts of Timothy might be buried in the difficult pronunciations.

The reader must read the first book in order to make sense of this story.

[Christian MontLouis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this book was good because of the way Timothy spoke. At certain parts of the story it was difficult to understand what he was saying. Also I didn't like the racism directed at Timothy. I felt very uncomfortable reading those parts. But one thing I did like about the story was that Phillip got his eyesight back since in the last book he lost it. Just think about it, when Timothy died he had to fend for himself on the cay blind. But that is pretty much it. You could also get lost very easily since it was a prequel-sequel story. In conclusion, this book isn't that great and I wouldn't recommend it.

[Crystal Soto · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe that the book was an okay book, I found it hard to read because of Timothy's way of speaking. Timothy spoke in a cut off way and it was sometimes hard to understand the words and phrases he was saying. Phillip was a great character and the relationship between a young white boy and an old black man had a relationship even when there was racism going on in their times.
That is one of my favorite things from the book, and it was a nice book but i would not recommend it because of the way Timothy speaks.

[Krista Mc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I liked how the author wrote in a thoughtful, measured way--a way that happened to appeal to me! I was empathetic for both Phillip and Timothy and felt their joys and sorrows. The format of the book was interesting, too--one chapter a "prequel" and another a "sequel" to The Cay..I did not feel at all like I as the reader was being jerked around between perspectives. It's too bad there aren't more in the Cay series.

[QuakerMaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is an interesting read.
I liked hearing of Timothy's past.
I wish they'd have left out the PWM's story, but I guess the author ~being who he was~ saw it necessary to do so. Let's pity the author for this.

I read "The Cay" first. I was really more interested in Timothy that silly Phillip. So imagine how happy I was to learn there WAS a book more about Timothy!

SO now I got both books and I'm going to be selling them as a set.

[John Buis · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading The Cay this was a no brainer. However, it's completely different than the Cay. This is considered a sequel and a prequel going back and forth from Timothy's perspective and Phillips. Each chapter goes back and forth which is so confusing to the readers which is why I gave it 4 stars. The book answers all the questions you had in the first one and the ending is awesome! Check it out. It's a short read about 3 to 4 hours long.

[Kimberley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book, but it's difficult for on-level 6th graders to read by themselves. I read it with a small book club group of boys and girls. They enjoyed it with me there to help pull them along and keep interest up. We had read The Cay, and they asked to read this one because they wanted to know more about Timothy.

[Es · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read 100% of the book
It is wonderful it has a lot of drama and sadness it reminds me of my life.
The plot is about a boy who leaves an island during ww2. The ship he is on was shot down when he wakes up he is with timothy a old black man and stew cat. During the book he becomes blind timothy becomes his eyes
I recommend this book it is really wonderful.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was as good as the first book. I loved learning about the last and about what Timothy's life was like. I also loved when the book went back to present day Phillip and we learned about his fate. I wish I could have found an audiobook that had the same reader as the first book. I would have enjoyed hearing this book through his voice

[V.P. Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so happy to see that he had written a sequel/prequel to The Cay. Not only do we learn what happens to Phillip (will he ever see again?), but we learn about Timothy's life and how he ended up on the ship with Phillip. Although written in 1993, it still has some the racist undertones that were in The Cay, but not as bad. I'll admit that I shed tears when reading the last page.