Review of Tim

[Patty Allread]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Tim" by Daniel A. Sheridan.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Set in 1850, Tim by Daniel A. Sheridan is the story of how Timothy O'Sullivan, a ten-year-old immigrant Irish boy living on Staten Island, began working for Mathew Brady in his daguerreotype studio in New York City. The daguerreotype was all the rage and was called "The New Art." Brady takes Tim under his wing and gives him odd jobs while teaching him how a daguerreotype portrait is created. Tim gets to know New York City and meets some colorful and famous people there, including P. T. Barnum, famed writers, poets, and others who come to the studio to have their portraits made.

What I loved the most was reading about Tim's day-to-day experiences in nineteenth-century New York City. Sheridan paints a lively picture of the era and the city and explains many of the things that were going on at that time. What might seem quaint now was written with a gritty reality as seen through the eyes of young Tim. Sheridan did a great deal of research not only about the now-famous Brady and O'Sullivan but also about the New York lifestyle in 1850. I have always subscribed to the saying, "I Love New York," and thoroughly appreciated this part of the book.

I was intrigued when partway through the book, Sheridan interspersed chapters about his own life in 1985. He writes about specific moments that inspired him and helped lead him to pursue photography and writing. He tells readers at the beginning of each chapter what year he is writing about, so there is no confusion. I could connect some of the dots in the 1985 chapters and see how they reflected what I read about in the 1850 chapters. The only part I could not easily relate to was Sheridan's inclusion of popular music from the 80s. Sometimes I couldn't understand the significance, but this is a minor complaint.

Reading Tim was a sublime experience. The undercurrent of an emerging art form, the growing inspiration of Timothy O'Sullivan, Mathew Brady, and Daniel Sheridan, and the feeling that I witnessed the emergence of this new era of art satisfied and inspired me. For these reasons, this book deserves 5 out of 5 stars. I should also mention that the book was excellently edited, with no errors that I could find. A small notation on the book cover indicates this is Sheridan's first book about O'Sullivan. If he writes a second one, I'll be eager to read it!

Readers interested in the daguerreotype method, photography, or the work of Mathew Brady and Timothy O'Sullivan will enjoy this book because it is not a dry history; it is history creatively brought to life by a skilled writer who researched his material well. Readers who love New York City and the period just before the Civil War will also like this book. Younger readers will find it inspirational to see how a young boy from a low-income family found a deep interest early in life that later became his passion.

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Tim
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[Alice Heritage]

I love the energy in New York City, and I'm sure it was pulsing in the nineteenth century too. I also love 1980s music, but it does seem odd to connect them with daguerrotypes.

Thank you for your interesting review.

[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

It's hard for me to pronounce the word, "daguerreotype" and it is still vague to me what method that looks like in the art. I like how your review was engagingly written.

[Patty Allread]

It's hard for me to pronounce the word, "daguerreotype" and it is still vague to me what method that looks like in the art. I like how your review was engagingly written.

Thank you for commenting! I didn't know at first how to say it either. In American English it's duh·geh·ruh·tipe. Even in the book Tim some characters had a hard time pronouncing it.

[AppleOrchard]

A great review about an era and topic (early photography) that I have lots of interest in, not to mention the tale of a survival of a young immigrant. Thanks for making me aware of this book and I'll shop for it now.

[Jack A]

The book sounds great Patty thanks for the review. I found it impressive how well you painted a picture of the book from your point of view. And you make sound like a book I would like to read.
And I had no idea that daguerreotype existed, however, it makes sense that photography would have several steps of development and is still developing. Thanks again for the review.