Boy Swallows Universe Character Analysis

Eli Bell

The novel’s protagonist, Eli grows from age 12 to age 19 over the course of the novel. When readers meet him, he’s a mostly happy kid living with Mum, her boyfriend Lyle, and… read analysis of Eli Bell

August Bell

August is Eli’s older brother by one year. He’s selectively mute and has been for the last seven years when the novel begins. Instead of speaking, he writes words in the air with his… read analysis of August Bell

Mum

Eli adores his and August’s mother. She left Dad when Eli and August were five and six, and she met Lyle while she was living with a friend she met at a halfway house… read analysis of Mum

Dad

Eli and August’s dad doesn’t appear until midway through the novel, as Mum left him when Eli and August were five and six. Eli thinks Dad is evil for messing up his relationship with… read analysis of Dad

Arthur “Slim” Halliday

Slim is Eli and August’s babysitter, and Eli’s mentor. He’s in his eighties and is an unconventional choice for a babysitter, as he’s only been out of prison less than a decade after being… read analysis of Arthur “Slim” Halliday

Lyle Orlik

Lyle is Mum’s boyfriend and a father figure to Eli and August. He’s kind, generous, and present for the nine years that he’s with Mum; he’s such a positive force in Eli’s life… read analysis of Lyle Orlik

Teddy

Teddy was once Lyle’s best friend, but over the course of the novel, he becomes Eli’s nemesis. Early in the novel, Teddy and Lyle work together for Tytus Broz, selling and delivering… read analysis of Teddy

Tytus Broz

The elderly antagonist of the novel, Eli often refers to Tytus Broz as “the lord of the limbs.” This is because Tytus’s day job is running a factory that produces prosthetic limbs, a business he… read analysis of Tytus Broz

Iwan Krol

Iwan Krol is one of the novel’s antagonists; he’s Tytus Broz’s henchman. The first time Eli meets him, he thinks that Iwan looks like he’s made of stone, as he seems like a hard… read analysis of Iwan Krol

Caitlyn Spies

Caitlyn Spies is Eli’s love interest; she’s a crime reporter for local and regional newspapers and is eight years older than Eli. She has long brown hair and wears thick round glasses. She first… read analysis of Caitlyn Spies

Alex Bermudez

Alex is the former sergeant-at-arms of a prominent motorcycle gang. At the beginning of the novel, when he’s in prison, he’s Eli’s pen pal. In his letters, Alex tells Eli about prison life, counsels… read analysis of Alex Bermudez

Darren Dang

Darren Dang is a classmate at Eli’s school in Darra and Bich Dang’s son. He’s a known bully; he regularly torments Eli, and once, he forces Eli to hold onto a rat so… read analysis of Darren Dang

“Back Off” Bich Dang

Darren Dang’s mother, Bich Dang, is an extremely successful Vietnamese businesswoman in Darra. She owns and runs an Asian grocery store and a Vietnamese restaurant, and she gives generously to various causes and organizations… read analysis of “Back Off” Bich Dang

Mrs. Birkbeck

Mrs. Birkbeck is the guidance counselor at Nashville State High School. She speaks regularly to both Eli and August, though only Eli seems willing to speak honestly with her. Eli understands that Mrs. Birkbeck… read analysis of Mrs. Birkbeck

Shelly Huffman

Shelly Huffman is a student in Eli’s year at Nashville State High School. She was recently diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, and the school is fundraising to buy her family a wheelchair-friendly van and outfit… read analysis of Shelly Huffman

Brian Robertson

Brian Robertson is the caustic editor in chief of The Courier-Mail newspaper, where Eli dreams of working. Eli expects Brian to love words and stories as much as he does—but when Eli first meets Brian… read analysis of Brian Robertson

Hanna Broz

Hanna Broz is Tytus Broz’s adult daughter. She was born without forearms or hands, and this inspired Tytus to start his prosthetics business. Hanna has long, white-blond hair and seems quiet and kind. She… read analysis of Hanna Broz

Raymond Leary

Raymond Leary has been harassing the staff at the South-West Star newspaper, where Caitlyn Spies works. The state took his house to build a road and his wife committed suicide, but the paper won’t tell… read analysis of Raymond Leary

Irene

Irene was Slim’s wife. She doesn’t appear in person in the novel; she’s only mentioned in Slim’s stories and in a newspaper article by Caitlyn Spies. In Slim’s stories, his memories of Irene… read analysis of Irene

Lena Orlik

Lena, Lyle’s mother, is deceased in the novel’s present. She died eight years after her husband, Aureli, died of cancer. Her bedroom in Lyle’s house remains untouched, and Eli thinks of it as… read analysis of Lena Orlik

Aureli Orlik

Aureli, Lyle’s father and Lena’s husband, is deceased in the novel’s present. He died of cancer in Lena’s bedroom in Lyle’s house. Aureli built the house on the weekends while he and Lena… read analysis of Aureli Orlik

Bevan Penn

Bevan Penn is Glenn and Regina Penn’s eight-year-old son. He goes missing from a Brisbane suburb, along with his parents. Bevan’s disappearance is traumatic for Eli, as he realizes how easily he and… read analysis of Bevan Penn

Christopher

Christopher is a cancer patient in the pediatric unit of the Brisbane Hospital. His brain cancer is most likely terminal, but this doesn’t bother Christopher—being sick means that for the most part, he gets whatever… read analysis of Christopher

Officer Dale

Officer Dale, a prison guard at Boggo Road, only appears in Slim’s stories of being in prison. Slim describes Officer Dale as one of the few decent men working in the prison system. Slim… read analysis of Officer Dale

Bernie

Bernie is an inmate at Boggo Road women’s prison, and she’s Slim’s contact inside when Eli sneaks in to see Mum. Bernie is an older woman who’s kind and generous to Eli, but… read analysis of Bernie

Minor Characters

Glenn Penn

Glenn Penn is a man who disappears from a suburb neighboring Darra. He’s believed to be involved in drug trafficking. Eli and Caitlyn discover his body and that of his wife, Regina, dismembered in the bunker in Tytus Broz’s backyard.

Regina Penn

Regina Penn goes missing from a Brisbane suburb, along with her husband, Glenn, and her son, Bevan. She and Glenn are abducted because of their involvement in the drug trade. Eli and Caitlyn discover her and Glenn’s dismembered bodies in Tytus Broz’s bunker.

Father Monroe

Father Monroe is a priest in Darra. Eli believes there’s nothing wrong with Father Monroe, but Darren Dang insists that Father Monroe pays a boy to expose his penis while Father Monroe masturbates.

Eric Voight

Eric is Darren Dang’s crony.

Mr. McKinnon

Mr. McKinnon is the Scottish and perpetually drunk groundskeeper at Eli and Darren’s school.

Quan Nguyen

Quan Nguyen is Bich Dang’s second husband. Eli describes him as more of a servant than a husband.

Ezra

Ezra is a Maori man whom Lyle and Teddy sell heroin to. He’s a third-tier drug dealer.

Eloise

Eloise is a woman who lives with Ezra. She’s tasked with checking Lyle’s block of heroin, and Eli witnesses Eloise shave a gram off the block behind Lyle’s back.

Dustin Vang

Dustin Vang is a drug dealer and importer in Darra. He eventually becomes part of the BTK gang, the rival gang to Darren’s 5T.

Bobby Linyette

Bobby Linyette is a bully at Nashville State High School. He torments Eli about his missing finger until Eli hits him in the knee with gym weights.

Pamela Waters

Pamela is Dad’s nosy next-door neighbor.

George

George is an old friend of Slim’s. He drives a fruit truck that makes deliveries to the Boggo Road prisons, and he agrees to smuggle Eli in to see Mum.

Debbie

Debbie is an inmate at Boggo Road women’s prison. She tries to help Eli see Mum.

Sister Patricia

Sister Patricia is a nun who runs a halfway house for women getting out of prison. She houses Mum for a short period of time when Mum is first released, and then takes Mum in a few times when Mum flees Teddy’s house.

Amos Webster

Amos is the elderly crossword puzzle editor at The Courier-Mail. Eli sits next to him, and Amos gives advice for how to survive in Brian Robertson’s office.

Veronica Holt

Veronica Holt is a crime reporter at The Courier-Mail’s rival newspaper. Brian detests her, as she breaks the story about the missing Penn family before the crime writers at The Courier-Mail can.

Dave Cullen

Dave is the rude and pompous journalist at The Courier-Mail who works at the crime desk with Caitlyn.

Dr. Caroline Brennan

Dr. Brennan is the Irish doctor in charge of the pediatric ward at the Brisbane hospital. She unsuccessfully tries to get Eli to tell her the truth about how he lost his finger by appealing to his love of Star Wars.