I read Tim way back years ago after I'd seen the movie version of the book starring a very young Mel Gibson as Tim.

The movie is, for now, up on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSN6...

“Why not give the old biddies something really worthwhile to talk about?”

Why not indeed!

Shout out to Leeza for the birthday “gift” from St Vincent. Unforgettable. Unmatched. Truly a gift of the ages.

2/5 for the memories that were made.

Not sure if I actually have read this before. I DO remember seeing the film with a gorgeous young Mel Gibson, who did a wonderful job playing Tim. I particularly loved the great Piper Laurie as Mary, Tim's friend and champion. I think it is a great short read, some good and some difficult characters...but over all a good story.

The highest compliment I can pay a book of this kind, is that it is utterly convincing.

This one is pretty taboo and required a fair amount of negotiating with my sense of disbelief. The question of consent is an alarming one here, and I was terribly uncomfortable, to say the least.

I gave it up on the first attempt, with no intention of getting back to it. But as soon as I started another book, Tim and Mary came back to haunt me. I've just never read anything like this before, and the novelty of it all, and sheer curiosity won me over.

In its bare-bones version, the story is pretty hard to stomach. The dialogue is cringe worthy at times, mostly because a mentally challenged character is alien to me, especially in the context of companionship and romance. But sound psychological research underpins the narrative. The writing style mutes the melodramatic moments well enough. Very well-crafted!

Given the fact that this book is almost 50 years old, I'd say it's aged brilliantly.

n  The gynecologist put up a hand to his face hastily to hide his involuntary smile; more than most men he was acquainted with Mary Horton's breed, for there were plenty of them working in Australian hospitals. Bloody dedicated old maids, he thought, they're all the same. Brisk, practical, disconcertingly level-headed, and yet for all that women underneath, full of pride, sensitivity, and a curious softness. His amusement under control again, he tapped his pen against the desk and hummed and hawed.n

Man sunkoka įvertinti šią knygą.. Tai neįprasta istorija. Gera. Labai jautri tema. Šeimos santykiai, prabundanti meilė. Visiškas moters atsidavimas, pagalba, kantrybė, pasiryžimas.. Tėvų skausmas.. Knygoje gražūs dialogai, daug išminties. Sunku vertinti, nes skaudu skaityti apie žmones turinčius negalią. Bet šioje knygoje viskas taip gražiai parašyta.. Ką išgyvena artimiausieji ir kaip reaguoja bei elgiasi aplinkiniai. Istorija verčia susimąstyti. Man patiko visi knygos personažai.

I read this in English of course couldn't find it though, so am using this platform. I really enjoyed this. Wow...

It is a story of a relationship between a child-like 25 year old mentally disabled man, the title character, and a 43 year old strait-laced and emotionally distant spinster, Mary Horton. Even though Mcullough's writing is slightly jarring (using the words 'retarded' and 'retard' - written in 1975) and lots of 'telling' rather than 'showing' I still think it was moving and beautiful. Mainly because of the sympathetic handling of Tim's character. Mary is also a lovely sterling character even though spiky and unapproachable. The description of her love for Tim is extremely believable and the whole book works. I also liked that Dawnie's baby was never mentioned! (No gender reveal, no cooing etc - loved that).

But the surface story, while absolutely moving and beautiful, is just the bottom layer of the cake. McCullough supplements that base with layer upon layer of detail and depth and insight and truth. While the finished product by another author may have been a tasty and even nice looking cake, in McCullough's expert hands it's something too amazing to actually mar by eating it. You want to keep this cake. You want to cherish it and remember every beautiful detail of it.

We're introduced to Tim, and from the beginning he's impossible not to love and want to protect. Tim's child-like innocence is what really broke my heart. He is tricked and fooled by his "friends", and is upset afterward, but not because he was tricked. His is not a knee-jerk reaction to being laughed at that causes him distress, it is the fact that he knows that he is not able to understand WHY he is being laughed at that distresses him. He seeks acceptance and understanding and love just like we all do.

All of us, that is, except Mary Horton. From the age of 14, she struggled and worked hard on her own to make a life for herself. Unfortunately, due to having a very hard childhood, her idea of "life" is one devoid of any personal relationships. She's never had a boyfriend, never wanted one, doesn't have any personal friends, and her only pleasures are solitary ones, her successes are material ones.

After a chance meeting with Tim, who fascinates her simply because of his sheer attractiveness, they each begin to fill a hole in the other person's life that neither knew they had. This isn't recognized until much later, but it warmed my heart to see them teaching each other what life is really about.

McCullough's descriptions of emotion and perception of the world is amazing. I'm not sure I've ever read anything like it. Her way with words is brilliant. It's like she's imparting secrets that you already knew, but just couldn't understand because the words are just words without MEANING. Even sitting here writing this, I'm at a loss to describe just what it is that touched me so deeply, but I'm close to tears just thinking about the way that she makes simple concepts turn into life-altering truths.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about McCullough's writing was its vividness. Her characters are just ALIVE and jump off the page. Their local slang and way of speaking had me laughing even while I had tears in my eyes, because while the phrases they use are hilarious, what they are actually saying is true in any language.

The characters are memorable, and none of them, not one, pulls any punches. I love that they say what they mean, and mean what they say. Brutally honest, perhaps, but if what needs to be said is important enough, sometimes it takes a brutal delivery to make it sink in.

Anyway. I'm immensely glad that I read this book, even though my snooty bookclub would look down on me for reading Colleen Mcullough!

Australia in the 1970s sounds kinda horrible. But McCullough captures the dialogue and detail perfectly. Can't imagine this subject being explored nowadays and I wonder whether it was completely scandalous when it was first published? Now I just have to find a copy of the film with Mel Gibson as Tim. So as a book I'd describe it as forward thinking for it's time - enjoyable but odd ?! And that just makes me sound like Mary Horton ha! I'm sure someone's analysed this book for a PhD - lemme know :)

Li este livro num fôlego...
Como nos outros livros que já li desta escritora ( Um passo à frente e As Senhoras de Misalongui), fui surpreendia pela mestria da sua narrativa e pela belíssima história que nos relata...
É a história da inocência no seu estado mais puro e de como o amor e a morte estão presentes na vida de qualquer pessoa, de qualquer raça, de qualquer sexo, de qualquer estado psíquico ou social....
Retrata a forma como são tratadas as pessoas ditas "diferentes" numa sociedade fechada e retrógrada mas, ao mesmo tempo, como a afectividade, o amor e a amizade podem ultrapassar esses e outros obstáculos.
Paralelamente, são descritas as maravilhosas paisagens da Austrália, de uma forma tão clara e objectiva que ficamos com extrema vontade de a visitarmos....
Contudo, é de ressalvar que esta edição da Dífel tem algumas gafes na tradução e na redacção que poderiam ser dispensadas...

Em suma, mais um livro extraordinário de uma escritora extraordinária..

Classificação - 5 ( Muito Bom)

I was in hospital when I discovered this little gem on a bookshelf at the end of the hall I was to walk a lot to help my recovery. It was a fast read with great character development and a story that I could really relate to since have a grown autistic son. Colleen has such a way with weaving a great story

This is my second reading of this very beautiful book, the first being probably 30 years ago. Whilst I appreciated it then I do so even more now with a few more years on planet earth. To me, though this was the first novel from this author, to my mind it was her best.

Histoire directe, sans complexité, à propos d'une amitié invraisemblable, mais pas tant que ça d'ailleurs, car ce livre m'a rappelé que j'avais moi-même été amie avec une personne légère d'esprit au lycée. Quelque chose que j'avais complètement oublié.

Quelques réflexions intéressantes sur la mort et sur la différence.

Avec Colleen McCullough on passe toujours un bon moment

YOU GUISE. READ THIS BOOK. JUST FREAKING READ IT.

I was mindlessly carousing along my school library's bookshelves, waiting for my next lecture and out of curiosity or perhaps mild interest, I picked out this book. I remember thinking to myself that this book must have been published quite a long time ago. I read the summary and decided to take a seat and read it.

Guess what? I was instantaneously hooked by it. The author's writing is just perfect and it flows so damn well. I love her writing ALOT. I was late, very late, for lecture because of this. I mean, come on, give me a slack man. I don't really like reading stories that has an older heroine and a younger hero. But this book is just exceptional, it was THAT good okayyyyy.

I love Tim and Mary, they're really perfect for each other. Enough said. Oh and I love love loveeeee a sentence in this book and it's from Tim's point of view: "And love her, love her, love her......"

For a man that has a child's mind, I say he's a sweetheart. This story moves me emotionally and I love it. So, you all should really read this book. Really. Like now.

Have a great day everyone. :)