More Than This

Regine is described as “a tall, heavyset black girl [close] to Seth’s age” (146) with her hair often “pulled tight across her scalp by a clip at the back of her head” (150. She is English and died when she was pushed down the stairs by her abusive stepfather who had an alcohol addiction. She often appears rough and angry, but she is revealed to be brave and caring through her actions.

Regine is the one that ultimately convinces Seth that The Nature of Reality is relative. First, Seth realizes that she is too particular for him to have made her up. Most significantly, though, she repeats her motto several times throughout the book: “I know I’m real, and that’s all I’ve got to go on” (295). She also advises Seth to “Know yourself and go in swinging” (198-99), which inspires him to take action and be brave in several instances. In Seth’s final dream, an imagined version of Regine drives home the central message of the novel: “Real life is only ever just real life. Messy. What it means depends on how you look at it. The only thing you’ve got to do is find a way to live there” (389). Throughout the narrative, Regine acts as a kind of mentor or guide to Seth as he learns to navigate his new environment, and she also grows more trusting and hopeful.

Tomasz is described as “very short” and looking like he “can’t be more than eleven or twelve” (145) despite claiming to be 14. Seth often remarks that the young boy reminds him of Owen, especially because they share a “spectacularly messy pile” (150) of hair.

He is from Poland, where he lived with his mother in poverty. When the world started to collapse, they found a smuggler who could get them into England. The young boy taught himself English by watching old movies, which explains some of his old-fashioned or clumsy phrasing. However, when his mother could not pay the smuggler anymore, the latter executed them, and that is why Tomasz woke up, a few months before Seth does. When they first meet, Tomasz claims that he was killed by lightning and the older teenagers, although doubtful, do not push him on it. However, he tells them what really happened after Seth accidentally witnesses Tomasz’s death.

Tomasz is bright, clever, and sensitive. He often provides comic relief by acting dramatically and making sarcastic comments, and often contributes to the Subverted Narrative Tropes. For instance, he refuses to let Seth call him Tommy, at first because they do not know each other well enough, and at the end because he likes the way Seth pronounces his name. Tomasz refuses the trope of a protagonist giving a brotherly nickname to a younger character within the protagonist’s found family. Tomasz also demonstrates bravery and recklessness by saving his friends from the Driver several times, for example by setting a fire or using a shotgun. He always intervenes at the last minute and becomes upset when his friends admonish him for taking such risks. Throughout the story, Tomasz grows to trust Seth and opens up more to his friends.