Flames Character Analysis

Charlotte McAllister

Charlotte McAllister is Levi’s younger sister and the daughter of Edith and Jack. The story picks up just after Edith’s death, reincarnation, and second death, and Charlotte is visibly devastated. Levi, disturbed by… read analysis of Charlotte McAllister

Levi McAllister

Levi McAllister is Charlotte’s older brother and the daughter of Edith and Jack. When Levi and Charlotte’s mother dies, Levi seems to get over his grief quickly, and he considers Charlotte’s outpourings of… read analysis of Levi McAllister

Fire Spirit/Jack (Levi and Charlotte’s Father)

Levi and Charlotte’s father (a fire spirit who most people know as Jack) left the family several years before Edith’s death, creating a rupture in his relationship with his children aren’t willing to… read analysis of Fire Spirit/Jack (Levi and Charlotte’s Father)

Edith McAllister (Levi and Charlotte’s Mother)

Levi and Charlotte’s mother dies shortly before the events of Flames take place. It’s clear from Levi and Charlotte’s displays of grief that their mother was a central part of their life—much more so… read analysis of Edith McAllister (Levi and Charlotte’s Mother)

Thurston Hough

Thurston Hough is the coffin expert Levi asks for help building Charlotte’s coffin. Thurston is antisocial, violent, and suspicious, all qualities which make him a particularly unpopular addition to Avoca, the small town… read analysis of Thurston Hough

The Esk God

The Esk God, in Flames’s world of magical realism, is one of the many divine beings upon which Tasmania’s ecology relies. He takes the physical form of a water rat and holds authority over… read analysis of The Esk God

The Detective

Levi hires the detective to find Charlotte when the police department gives up their search. With her short hair and dark lipstick, the detective is well aware of how strange she must appear to the… read analysis of The Detective

Nicola

Nicola is Karl and Louise’s daughter and one of Allen’s farmhands. She’s a reliable, diligent worker who cares deeply for the wombats on the farm. She delights in providing for other people. This… read analysis of Nicola

Allen Gibson

Allen Gibson is the manager of the wombat farm in Melaleuca. He takes his job seriously and holds himself to a high standard, which means that when the first wombats die, he holds off on… read analysis of Allen Gibson

Karl (Nicola’s Father)

Karl is Nicola’s father and Louise’s wife. When he meets and bonds with a seal pup, he begins a precious, decades-long partnership which involves the two of them hunting enormous Oneblood tuna together… read analysis of Karl (Nicola’s Father)

The Ranger

The ranger has always been overwhelmed by the beauty of nature and often finds that his awe at the world around him distracts him from his daily tasks. When he delays calling for a plane… read analysis of The Ranger

The Miners

The miners are a pair of friends who attempt to force sex on Charlotte when she spends the night in Tunbridge. Though they initially appear harmless, Charlotte eventually realizes that their double act, which allows… read analysis of The Miners

The Cloud God

The Cloud God is the divine being with responsibility for Tasmania’s rain. She feeds the Esk Rivers and is the Esk God’s lover, a relationship that highlights the interdependent, complex cycles of nature. When… read analysis of The Cloud God

Minor Characters

Oshikawa

Oshikawa is a wholesaler of Oneblood tuna. He gets to know Karl over the years that Karl and his seal hunt for Onebloods, and he eventually becomes a friend of the family. His hut at Cradle Mountain is a refuge for Charlotte and Nicola after they escape from Melaleuca.

Graham Malik

Graham Malik is briefly the lead detective in Charlotte’s missing person case. He has a long-running working relationship with the detective Levi hires, and he demonstrates his friendship with her by investigating Charlotte and Levi’s father on his own time to help her with Charlotte’s case.

The Sailor

The sailor transports Charlotte to Melaleuca. He’s reluctant to tell the detective anything about Charlotte or himself but relents at the offer of cash, which—similarly to Thurston’s change in attitude when Levi offers payment—emphasizes that in many cases, greed is more potent than one’s principles.

Mavis Midcurrent

Mavis is the author of Cream, Butter and Small-Town Nutters in which she discusses Thurston Hough’s antisocial behavior as a new resident of Avoca, the town in which she runs the Country Women’s Association.

Mrs Quorn

Mrs Quorn is the owner of the wombat farm in Melaleuca, which she inherited from her husband after his death.

Louise

Louise is Karl’s wife and Nicola’s mother.

Flames

Robbie Arnott

Flames Characters