May Gibson

As the novel’s protagonist, May appears in every chapter of the novel and provides the first-person narrative. A product of her unstable upbringing, May is self-sufficient and astute, and becomes an adult far earlier than needed in order to keep herself safe. May has a tendency to run away the moment she feels uncomfortable or is tested, an instinct which is a natural offset from having been savagely raped and losing all her sense of safety. Her traumatic childhood propels her to find a functional and loving family, and this provides the backbone of the plotline in Swallow the Air. At first, May sets off across Australia with the view to finding her father but, as the journey continues and the myth of her perfect father is dispelled, she slowly untangles her aversion to her Aboriginal heritage and learns to embrace it. As she matures, May reconciles her tragic past and connects more and more to the land around her, finding solace in the earth and the elements. Her return to Wollongong symbolises her acceptance of her childhood and the loss of so many people whom she loved dearly.

May Gibson Quotes

Way down, past the flags and half a million dollar beachfronts, there hid a little slice of scum. From the wrong side of the creek, we’d had the privilege of savouring the last crumbs of beachfront property. (May about her childhood home on Paradise Parade) p. 33

Again and again he threw the words at my hands, hands incapable of taking hold of them and running… his screaming flung through the streets like I’ll be back’s, but I knew he wouldn’t. (May when Billy leaves) p. 59

Sometimes people stand in the way of other people’s eyes. I wasn’t waiting for change; I wasn’t waiting for anymore things to get better. (May) p. 63

I didn’t see the colour that everyone else saw, some saw different shades – black, and brown, white. I saw me. I saw May Gibson, with one eye a little bigger than the other. (May) p. 97

… at the water I am always home. Aunty and my brother, we are from the same people, we are of the Wiradjuri nation…’ (May when she returns to her childhood house) p. 194

Mum

The readers will undoubtedly fluctuate between feeling sympathy and frustration toward the tragic character of May and Billy’s mum. Although she is a rich source of traditional Aboriginal stories, that both delight and inspire her children, she is mentally unstable and a volatile caregiver. She encourages her children to visit the beach and connect with the natural world around them, keen for them to explore the space outside of their impoverished housing project and to know that there are better things in life than what she can provide for them. May’s memories of her mother are bittersweet; she remembers the sadness that plagues her and it’s not until further in the narrative that we learn the horrendous abuse she had been subject to from May’s father. When he leaves Mum is riddled with paranoia, which masquerades as cynicism towards the government and conspiracy theories, but in reality she is probably distraught at the prospect that her husband will return and end her life. Not being able to handle this anymore, Mum commits suicide. Although she is not alive during the novel, May’s recollections bring to life a dogged figure who is systematically responsible for the principles that May has instilled in her.

Mum Quotes

I remember the day I found out my mother was head sick. She wore worry on her wrists… (May remembering her mother) p. 3

Mum’s stories changed when he left. She became paranoid and frightened of a world that existed only in her head. Who was going to beat her mind? (May about her mother) p. 88

Mum’s stories were sad, she could only whisper their importance, instead she’d show you them, take you there. (May about her mother) p. 137

Dad

May’s confused memory of her father leads the reader to believe he was everything a good father should be and that the blame lay entirely at Mum’s feet. May remembers him to be a patient man who is keen to reignite their relationship whenever it is that May comes to find him but when she unexpectedly spots him across a prize-fighting ring, her memories return and the reality of the cruelness of her father surfaces. The violent context of this encounter forces May to remember the violence she had long since shut out: addicted to marijuana and visiting heinous beatings on her mum religiously. Her disillusionment with Dad helps May on the path of reconnecting with her Aboriginal heritage.

Dad Quotes

Dad wasn’t there anymore, but she still saw him, he still managed to haunt her. (May remembering how scarred Mum was after Dad left her) p. 88

But to me, then, under the thick mangle of brown branches that pleaded for rain in the desperate air, he might as well have been right there…or I’m about six, following his forearms, his fingers as he shows us how to cast the line off the beach, swinging the hook and sinker, his arm perfect. (May’s memories of her father were more pleasant than the reality) p. 46

Billy Gibson

May’s older brother Billy has a heart condition, which means he must undergo a series of operations as an infant and, much to everybody’s surprise, he triumphs over his disability and learns to walk. Billy and May are incredibly close during their childhood, and much of what she experiences is validated by the fact that Billy goes through it as well. After the death of their mother, Billy and May happen upon Aunty being attacked by her boyfriend Craig and after Craig attacks him too, Billy leaves. May views this as complete abandonment and realises Billy as one of a very long line of people who will leave her. When they reconnect, Billy is addicted to drugs and it seems he will follow the same trajectory as so many in Aboriginal communities who fall victim to substance abuse. Billy’s decision at the end of the novel to ‘go clean’ and return home is testament to his fighting spirit.

Billy Quotes

Billy’s feet were so much darker than mine; he’d call me a ‘halfie’ and ‘coconut’. We’d be laughing and chasing each other around the yard being racist and not even knowing it. (May and Billy in their childhood) pp. 7-8

No one taught Billy how to fight. Mum had once said to me that he just had to; he already knew before he was born that he had no other choice. He heart was bleeding before the world had even got to him, before he could even swallow the air, Mum said. (May about her brother) p. 51

Billy’s hand was still against his chest as he grabbed Aunty’s eyes with his own. His scream was from somewhere deep within. He bellowed, baring his teeth, yelling miles and miles of hatred upon her. (May remembering the night Billy left) p. 58

Aunty

Mum’s sister and May’s aunt takes the kids in when their mother ends her own life. Although she is loving and affectionate, Aunty is addicted to drinking and May watches as she becomes more reliant on the euphoria of gambling. Aunty aligns herself with Craig, an abusive boyfriend who eventually frightens May to the extent that she leaves the home in search of stability. Just like she did with Mum, May learns to appreciate Aunty despite her weaknesses and she becomes an integral facet to the fabric of May’s upbringing.

When May returns to her birth town, she emerges as the caretaker, consoling Aunty about the eviction.

Aunty Quotes

Aunty never used to reckon she was lucky. She always just figured she was passed a raw deal, dealt a bad hand. p. 13

Then is was the lotto, then trifectas, pool comps and then that slapping death knell, the pokies. We rarely saw Aunty those days, when we did, she’d just lie about winning, or where she’d been. (Aunty drowned out, she faded from our safety) p. 17

‘There!’ she boasted. ‘Your mum’d be so proud of you, the both of you.’
Billy and I dropped our heads down. Aunty was getting all tipsy and emotional. I didn’t mind her like this so much. (May on Billy’s birthday) p. 55

Alice (Old Mum)

Alice is Mum’s mother and therefore May’s grandmother and, as with Mum, she frequently figures in stories and recollections. Her story mirrors that of May: a young woman who left an unstable situation in search of a life with meaning. But Alice, like so many of the women in May’s life, has several children to abusive partners and lives in poverty for the remainder of her life.

Alice Quotes

‘When we came home Mum would throw her feet up on the balcony rail, roll off her stockings and smoke her cigarettes in the sun. Maybe chat with the other women, but most of them were messed up, climbing those walls, trying to forget. It wasn’t a good time for the women, losing their children’. (May’s Mum remembering her mother) p. 24

I suppose that to my nanna, Samuel was much like a cloud buster. Letting in the sun, some hope, the rainbow had been their friendship. (May remembering the story of how Samuel had been kind to Alice) p. 28

Samuel

Samuel is a travelling salesman that exhibits kindness and tolerance for the community in which Alice and Mum (as a young girl) lived. Upon visiting the housing project, selling stainless steel pots and pans for a living, Samuel is kind enough to allow Alice to pay them off in instalments and, on the day of the final payment, delivers the cookware full of food to feed the family. His kindness is a rare treat for the three generations of women.

Samuel Quotes

For Samuel, my mum and nanna, I don’t know, maybe the exchange was even, and maybe when those clouds burst open, he got to feel the rain. p. 28

The Man (The Rapist)

Representing the broader relationship between the Aboriginal and Anglo-Australians, who force their control of the land by brutal oppression of its original inhabitants, May is raped by the white man on her way home one evening. Not only does the vicious attack sever her affinity with the beach (which in turn, makes her feel closer to her people), his accusation that she doesn’t ‘belong’ seems to haunt her for years to follow as she battles with isolation and the inability to settle anywhere.

Joyce (The Old Woman)

An elderly woman that comes across May when she is homeless and sleeping under a garden pergola, Joyce brings May to the Block in Sydney. The crowded urban neighbourhood is populated by Aboriginal people and, despite the prevalence of substance abuse and poverty, has a strong sense of community. Although Joyce battles her own demons, she is a steadfast caregiver and offers advice to May about not settling, encouraging her to seek a better life. Her daughter Justine and grandson Johnny live with her.

Johnny

Joyce’s grandson and May’s best friend, Johnny settles for being May’s friend after initially flirting with the idea of being her boyfriend. They bond over their need to escape and find a better life for themselves however, although their bonding over this common interest sounds promising, when Johnny is asked to leave with May, he refuses. His importance in the novel cannot be underestimated; Johnny is responsible for May’s reinvigoration into her heritage, as they spend their afternoons daydreaming about life in traditional Aboriginal societies. Johnny’s death at the end of the novel hits May hard.

Charlie

For a time, Charlie is May’s co-worker at the car wash in Sydney. Their age difference is cast aside as May begins to see him as a father figure, and they relate to one another over a mutual understanding of the difficulties of being multicultural. Charlie is an immigrant from Africa, who fled due to civil unrest, and his brief appearance in the novel links Aboriginal Australians to other marginalised groups, showing that displacement is a global issue rather than one specific to Australia.

Percy and Dotty Gibson

Percy is Mum’s cousin and the final relative that May comes across at the end of the novel. It becomes evident to May, as she spends more time with them, that Percy is intent on moving away from his Aboriginal heritage and is keen to assimilate into the Anglo-Australian society by undertaking typical suburban habits such as keeping a good lawn and playing a round of golf every day. Relieved to find family, May had not expected to find a lifestyle in such direct contrast to the thriving traditionalism she had hoped for but Percy’s pragmatic advice for May to honour her own traditions and push into the future is sound advice on the impressionable May.

Sheepa

A man who lives in the abandoned building where May goes after she has left Aunty’s house. Sheepa is kind and gives May what food he can provide but he also introduces her to the oblivion that opium can provide.

Craig

Aunty’s abusive boyfriend is an example of the many brutal domestic violence perpetrators in the novel. After punching Billy in the chest, the young man becomes unconscious and runs away when he wakes up.

Betty

An elderly woman living in a mission outside of Eubalong, Betty advises May where to find her relatives, the Gibsons.

Justine

Joyce’s daughter and Johnny’s mother, who eventually succumbs to a drug addiction.

Jo

Betty’s daughter.

Gary

A man who gives May a ride when she is hitchhiking. He takes her from Sydney to Lake Cowal.

Pete

A kindly truck driver who allows May to hitch a ride with him from her hometown of Wollongong. Originally, they had planned to travel to Sydney but upon attending a rodeo and seeing a fistfight, May changes her mind and never gets to Darwin. Pete is quintessentially Australian, a mad race car enthusiast and a trucker.

Vardy

Billy’s friend.

Billy’s Father

Unnamed, Billy’s father is of Aboriginal heritage and leaves just after Billy is born and they discover the baby is unwell. He takes his own life.