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Brendan
Aunty Kath is Fin's mother and Mum and Brendan's sister. Because her husband died about fifteen years ago, she's mostly on her own in taking care of Fin in the aftermath of the accident. Tom describes her as an exceptional cook, especially when it comes to birthday cakes: she always made Fin amazing cakes, which he believes she did because Fin's birthday was always overshadowed by Daniel’s. This implies that Kath was aware of the dynamic between Fin and Daniel and attempted in small ways to fix it. In the present, Kath has become extremely strong and muscular from needing to lift and turn Fin. She spends most of her time with him at the hospital, caring for his every need. During a brief visit to Gran's house, she loses her composure when she discovers that Mum is spending all her time in bed and is neglecting Tom and Kylie, to whom Kath is especially close. Her explosive anger is enough to encourage Mum to get out of bed more often and begin to recover. Kath does what she can to make things as normal as possible for Fin. She arranges a birthday party for him in his rehab facility and purchases a flat near the hospital and rehab center so that Fin will be able to move home. Despite everyone's relief that Fin will be able to do so, Kath is vocal about the fact that Fin is afraid. Dad implies that Kath is also afraid and overwhelmed by the task of needing to care for her adult son. She never sees Daniel in jail for the duration of the novel, but she and Fin do express interest in doing that at some point.
Aunty Kath Quotes in The Story of Tom Brennan
The The Story of Tom Brennan quotes below are all either spoken by Aunty Kath or refer to Aunty Kath. 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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Chapter Eleven Quotes
I mean, it was bad—it was all bad—but even after the worst visits, there was still hope when you left him, some hope in the realization that one day Daniel'd be getting out of there, a free man.
But Fin would never be free, and that was too enormous to swallow.
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Us Brennans had a lot to ask for and not much reason to give thanks. But I was thankful. Mum was up.
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Aunty Kath Character Timeline in The Story of Tom Brennan
The timeline below shows where the character Aunty Kath appears in The Story of Tom Brennan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Four
...remembers one Christmas that Brendan brought a girl for lunch and overhearing Mum and Aunty Kath giggling about whether Gran prays to a patron saint of gay sons.
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...of time together. He notices a photo on Brendan's desk of Mum, Brendan, and Aunty Kath fishing as kids. He then notices another frame turned over; it holds a photo of...
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...Coghill. He realizes the phone is ringing but lets it go to voicemail. It's Aunty Kath, updating Brendan on Fin and asking about the plan for the weekend. This makes Tom...
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...the next day. She suggests that Tom go with Brendan to see Fin and Aunty Kath, and then mentions that Fin will move to a rehab facility soon. She says that...
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Chapter Five
Brendan and Aunty Kath walk into Fin's room. Aunty Kath's big sunglasses can't hide that she's been crying. As...
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Chapter Seven
Early on Monday morning, Brendan left to be with Aunty Kath and Fin. Tom and Kylie didn't go to school, and Daniel's solicitor, Dennis Talbot, came...
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Chapter Nine
...waiting to happen, said that no sentence will be long enough, and sent regards to Kath and Fin.
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Chapter Ten
...things could be worse—Tom could be Fin. Tom starts to fire back, but notices Aunty Kath outside the screen door. Kylie runs to Kath, hugs her, and starts to cry. Tom...
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Chapter Eleven
Tom had no idea that Aunty Kath was coming during Fin's move to rehab, so he feels caught off guard. Kath sends...
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A bit later, Kylie returns from her shower and Aunty Kath promises to make another strudel before Kylie's science class. Tom explains to the reader that...
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When Tom gets home from school, Aunty Kath is still in the kitchen. Pots bubble on the stove and she's busy scrubbing the...
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...room. Mum is curled into a ball on the bed. Brendan sits with her, Aunty Kath paces, and Gran and Kylie stand against the wall. Kath and Gran explain that Daniel...
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Chapter Thirteen
...had been hoping that Fin would drop the idea of a birthday party, but Aunty Kath organizes a barbeque for everyone on Saturday. The night before, Tom goes out to see...
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...Fin was. He tries not to cry when he sees Fin in the wheelchair. Aunty Kath makes a wonderful cake and Mum even tries to look nice. Tom can feel the...
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Chapter Sixteen
...Daniel shouldn't get his way. She says that the day before the accident, when Aunty Kath was out, she suggested Fin invite Claire over and said she'd keep watch. Fin and...
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Chapter Eighteen
...rehab center, Tom's entire family plans to spend the school holidays in Aralen helping Aunty Kath move. Tom loudly complains about it at dinner one night, but Dad tells Tom very...
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Tom walks around Aunty Kath's living room in her new flat, looking at all the contraptions she installed so Fin...
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Chapter Nineteen
...discuss whether Fin will actually go see Daniel, and Brendan suggests that Fin and Aunty Kath are still too preoccupied with simply figuring out how to care for Fin to think...
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