Minor Characters
Wilson Masoi
Gilbert’s father. With the help of Mr. Watts, he arranges an escape from the island using his hidden fishing boat. Although Mr. Watts is killed before this can take place, Mr. Masoi and his fellow passengers rescue Matilda from tempestuous waters and successfully escape.
Gilbert Masoi
Wilson Masoi and Mrs. Masoi’s son, and one of Matilda’s classmates. Matilda describes him as having large shoulders and a “big woolly head.” She also explains that he only comes to school when his father doesn’t need his help fishing.
Mrs. Masoi
Gilbert’s mother and Wilson Masoi’s wife. When she visits Mr. Watts’s class to share her wisdom, she gives the students cooking tips, teaching them how to kill an octopus or a pig.
June Watts
Mr. Watts’s former wife, who remains unmentioned until the end of the novel, when Matilda looks her up in a New Zealand phonebook and subsequently pays her a visit in the very house Mr. Watts used to live in, where he first fell in love with Grace.
The Drunken Rambo
A rowdy rebel soldier and Bougainville native who threatens to sodomize Mr. Watts. When he is later captured by the “redskin” forces, he fatally identifies Mr. Watts as Pip, who the “redskin” officer thinks is a fugitive rebel. The “redskins” then kill the soldier.
Charles Dickens
The British author who wrote Great Expectations. Mr. Watts considers Dickens the “greatest English author of the nineteenth century.” When she reaches adulthood, Matilda visits England to conduct research on Dickens for a thesis about his work.
Maria
A woman from the Philippines who cleans Matilda’s father’s house in Townsville, Australia, eventually becoming involved in a romantic relationship with him. Matilda says that Maria “tried too hard” to get her to like her, always wanting to talk about Dolores. Still, Matilda is grateful for Maria.
Francis Ona
The leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, which carried out the first attacks on Bougainville’s copper mine. These attacks prompted the Papua New Guinea government to enforce a blockade barring inhabitants from leaving Bougainville—the same blockade that prevents Matilda and Dolores from joining Matilda’s father in Australia.
King Solomon
A Biblical character who is said to possess a large amount of divine knowledge. When the Queen of Sheba visits Solomon to ask him questions and test his knowledge, he engages in a conversation and gives her anything she desires.