MR. TIMOTHY

According to novelist Louis Bayard, frail Tiny Tim was a survivor and a far more interesting character than Dickens let on. In MR. TIMOTHY, his delightful and atmospheric novel set in 1860s London, Bayard gives the adult Tim a limp, colorful compatriots, and a mystery to solve: Who is branding and killing homeless little girls? Mark Honan reads this first-person narrative beautifully. His Tim is plucky and engaging, a young man rising above the station into which he was born. (The difference between Tim's accent and his older brother's is clever and telling.) Tim's companions include an old boatman, a streetwise homeless boy, an Italian girl, and some London prostitutes--all read so believably that the scene in one's headphones passes before one's eyes. Be careful when driving. Otherwise, enjoy. This is a pleasure. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 04]