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Henry
Uncle Basil—whose real name is Herb—is Alyssa and Garrett’s uncle. He’s Alyssa’s mom’s brother. Basil used to be a successful almond farmer in Modesto and was in a loving relationship with real estate agent Daphne, but when his farm failed and the Pacific Dust Bowl was declared, he moved south with Daphne to Dove Canyon. However, losing his farm “broke” him, and Daphne broke up with him twice, causing him to move in with Alyssa’s family. Uncle Basil is generous, loving, and a bit unserious—or at least, he pretends to be. Alyssa recognizes that Basil’s intentions are good and he’s immensely loyal to his family, but she also characterizes his lifted pickup truck as a ridiculous midlife crisis purchase. Still, the truck proves valuable later, when Basil trades it to Henry for ÁguaViva, and when Alyssa, Kelton, and Garrett take it into the woods to the bug-out. Uncle Basil and Daphne both contract dysentery from the water tank in Dove Canyon, but because Jacqui leaves Basil her antibiotics, he survives the ordeal. Following the Tap-Out, he seems to find himself again and becomes a spokesperson for ÁguaViva.
Uncle Basil Quotes in Dry
The Dry quotes below are all either spoken by Uncle Basil or refer to Uncle Basil. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1 Quotes
Something feels slightly off. I’m not sure what it is, but it hangs in the air like a scent. It’s in the impatience of the people in line. The way people use their carts—on the verge of being battering rams to make their way through the crowd. There’s a sort of primal hostility all around us, hidden by a veneer of suburban politeness. But even that politeness is stretching thin.
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Part 3, Pages 250-297 Quotes
It didn’t taste bad. Didn’t make you spit it out, grimacing. Yes, it was a little bit earthy, but that was all. He wondered if anyone had the good sense to boil it first before drinking it. Probably not. There’s a false sense of security when you turn a shiny chrome tap in your own kitchen. Yes, you expect it not to taste quite as good as filtered water, what with all the fluoride, and chlorine, and whatever the hell else they treat the water with—but you don’t expect it to kill you. How could anyone have known?
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Uncle Basil Character Timeline in Dry
The timeline below shows where the character Uncle Basil appears in Dry. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...get him from the garage, where he’s working on a car with Mom’s brother, Uncle Basil. Uncle Basil used to farm almonds in Modesto, but he’s been with Alyssa’s family off...
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That evening, Uncle Basil announces a Costco run for bottled water. Alyssa and Garrett join him. There’s nowhere to...
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...he suggests that Alyssa take a bag of ice for herself—he’s keeping the cart. Uncle Basil appears just in time and the businessman hurries away, leaving the cart. After loading the...
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The street is quiet and eerie when Uncle Basil backs into the driveway to unload the ice. Alyssa sends Garrett to clean a bathtub...
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Around midnight, Alyssa is getting ready for bed when she notices Uncle Basil outside. He says he’s leaving, just for a while. He doesn’t want to keep eating...
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Part 2, Pages 123-181
...Angeles National Forest. They’ll need a lifted vehicle to get there. Garrett notes that Uncle Basil has a truck, and he’s in Dove Canyon.
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Part 3, Pages 185-249
...nobody is outside. It’s eerie, but Alyssa insists they at least try to see Uncle Basil before hotwiring one of the other trucks around. Jacqui notes that they still have the...
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Uncle Basil’s truck isn’t in the driveway, but Uncle Basil opens the door when Alyssa knocks. He...
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...the kitchen, Alyssa stops Garrett from eating pineapple chunks and shares Kelton’s theory with Uncle Basil. Basil doesn’t argue, but it’s clear he doesn’t realize how serious his illness is. When...
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...stare right through her. Jacqui returns downstairs, silent, troubled by what she saw upstairs. Though Basil is in better shape than Daphne, Jacqui figures he’s not far from giving up. This...
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...jacket in this heat odd, but she doesn’t question it. When Alyssa asks for Uncle Basil’s truck, Henry refuses—and Alyssa, Jacqui, Garrett, and Kelton force the door open and knock Henry...
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...“what rule of law is left to us?” They discuss Alyssa’s hesitance to leave Uncle Basil in his current state and the fact that the air conditioner in the truck doesn’t...
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...it will die—they aren’t going anywhere with water. Just then, Henry races up with Uncle Basil’s keys and says they have to go. He traded the ÁguaViva for the keys, which...
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Part 3, Pages 250-297
Snapshot: 13 Ridgecrest, Dove Canyon. Herb—Uncle Basil—was happy to see Garrett and Alyssa earlier, but he’s worried about them. Especially since Jacqui...
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...at odd angles, and the whole sight is disturbing. When they stop, Alyssa digs Uncle Basil’s hookah out of the truck bed so they can use its hose to siphon gas....
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Part 6
...with her parents when she and Garrett got off the bus from Lake Arrowhead. Uncle Basil is back with the family now too, though Daphne died. Basil is now selling ÁguaViva.
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