Scan barcode
A review by mariahistryingtoread
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
4.0
I found the cover off-putting as a child for some reason and as an adult I still get the echoes of that discomfort. In an effort to achieve my reading goal for 2022 - which I did make, in case you were wondering - I pushed that aside because this was only 3 hours and immediately available on Libby.
I'm happy to report I didn't suffer in the meantime.
The Cay is a fairly straightforward survival story. Not a lot happens and what does is usually miserable. It sticks firmly to what's realistic outside of the basic idea of these two being able to survive at all based on the circumstances. There are storms, food is hard to come by, water has to be caught in buckets when it rains and Phillip's blindness is an active part of the story that must be accounted for in all aspects.
There is a sort of feel good undertone to it in a sense that Phillip overcomes racism to see Timothy as an actual human being, but it's overshadowed largely by the hardships around every corner.
I've seen that the book has received criticism in the past due to its depiction of Timothy, however, I found that it was directly in line with what I would expect Phillip to believe seeing as the book was from his point of view and what Timothy most likely would act like based on the life he probably led ie one of white subjugation.
I'm not surprised Timothy is said to be ugly because I did not take it as an objective truth merely Phillip's skewed perception. I'm not surprised Timothy is 'servile' as I'd expect a Black man of that era to be inclined to defer to white people even if it's a child. Plus, when necessary Timothy absolutely stands up to Phillip. So while I understand the grievances and I see some merit in them I had zero issues when reading.
I cried at the end though that means little since I'll cry at almost anything. Still, I thought I'd mention it for all my fellow oversensitive dweebs out there considering giving it a read. I can see why it's required reading in some places; regardless of where you fall in relation to complaints about the Cay, you can't deny that it invites discussion.
I'm happy to report I didn't suffer in the meantime.
The Cay is a fairly straightforward survival story. Not a lot happens and what does is usually miserable. It sticks firmly to what's realistic outside of the basic idea of these two being able to survive at all based on the circumstances. There are storms, food is hard to come by, water has to be caught in buckets when it rains and Phillip's blindness is an active part of the story that must be accounted for in all aspects.
There is a sort of feel good undertone to it in a sense that Phillip overcomes racism to see Timothy as an actual human being, but it's overshadowed largely by the hardships around every corner.
I've seen that the book has received criticism in the past due to its depiction of Timothy, however, I found that it was directly in line with what I would expect Phillip to believe seeing as the book was from his point of view and what Timothy most likely would act like based on the life he probably led ie one of white subjugation.
I'm not surprised Timothy is said to be ugly because I did not take it as an objective truth merely Phillip's skewed perception. I'm not surprised Timothy is 'servile' as I'd expect a Black man of that era to be inclined to defer to white people even if it's a child. Plus, when necessary Timothy absolutely stands up to Phillip. So while I understand the grievances and I see some merit in them I had zero issues when reading.
I cried at the end though that means little since I'll cry at almost anything. Still, I thought I'd mention it for all my fellow oversensitive dweebs out there considering giving it a read. I can see why it's required reading in some places; regardless of where you fall in relation to complaints about the Cay, you can't deny that it invites discussion.