Barb Szubanski is Magda’s sister. Many years older than Magda, Magda finds Barb “groovy” and knowledgeable. Progressive and accepting, Barb is the first person whom Magda trusts with the truth about her sexuality. As an adult, Barb moves to South Yarra, Australia, where she eventually marries and has a baby.
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Barb Szubanski Character Timeline in Reckoning
The timeline below shows where the character Barb Szubanski appears in Reckoning. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: Death of an Assassin
...body slowly give up life, and they struggle to cope with the death. Magda’s sister Barb sings “Amazing Grace,” and the rest join in.
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...at Peter’s funeral, remarking that only God knows what is in a person’s soul. Afterward, Barb—whom Margaret exclaims is too sensitive for the world—bravely sings “Ave Maria,” reducing the guests to...
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Chapter 5: I Am Born
...forgot holding John’s tiny casket on his lap. Besides John, Magda has two older siblings, Barb and Chris. Magda idolizes Barb and Chris and wears their hand-me-downs proudly. As Barb and...
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Chapter 6: Medicine Men
...fought back by taking to disassembling cars and dreaming of being a racecar driver. When Barb went through an awkward puberty, Peter stopped talking to her and projected his crushed intellectual...
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Chapter 7: Life Lessons
Since Margaret, Peter, Barb, and Chris left early in the day, Magda had the house to herself in the...
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Chapter 8: Feeling Different
With Barb and Chris busy, Magda looked to The Brady Bunch for perspective on her life. The...
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Chapter 13: Sharpies
When Barb moves into a flat in South Yarra, Peter stops speaking to her. This exile upsets...
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Chapter 14: Fourteen
...Magda’s grades get even worse; then, she is caught shoplifting. Suddenly worried, Magda’s parents send Barb to talk to Magda. Magda tells Barb everything, except her fear that she is a...
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Chapter 16: Grüber
...fires her for being lazy. Margaret attributes Magda’s lethargy to hypoglycemia, a condition with which Barb had once been diagnosed by a doctor named Grüber.
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Chapter 17: Salad Days
...the word “lesbian”—which feels like a slur or insult—any longer; she goes to Scoresby where Barb now lives with her husband and baby. Making Barb promise not to tell Margaret or...
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Chapter 39: Coming Out
Magda asks Barb and Chris to attend the broadcast of The Project in person on Valentine’s Day; they...
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Chapter 41: Trepanning
On the phone, Magda tells Barb that she knows what Peter meant when he said that his greatest fear was that...
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