Tom Brennan

Jane Burke said that the main focus of her novel, The Story of Tom Brennan was on Tom’s journey out of the darkness which engulfed him after the tragic road accident. After Daniel Brennan crashed his blue ford falcon into a tree, killing two and injuring another, Tom’s world spun into a darkness he couldn’t explain. The feelings of rage and desperation or normal life consumed him. The Story of Tom Brennan is all about dark and light, the things that turn us dark and the things that can turn us back into the light.

Focusing on Tom after the accident, his mind was dark. Despair grew around him; sucking him into a place he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go. The cave, ‘a dark brown place’ is his room, the room his uncle called his own when he was a boy. The cave signifies the inside of Tom, but not throughout the whole book. Tom moves through life day by day, moment by moment, in a struggle to get back to the happy place he was before the accident. The darkness Jane Burke focusses on at the start of the book shows how much dark is compared to light, from the start of the book to the final page.

Brendan help Tom make the transition from the darkness of his past to the light of his future. Brendan provides an escape for Tom, running with him, giving all he has to make Tom look forward to things. Running made Tom fit, which helped his self-confidence and his rugby fitness. Providing him a trip to Nepal , something he can look forward to, giving Tom someone to talk to. It all helped so much, assisted Tom keeps his head on the light side and out of the darkness. “ It was peaceful”, was Tom’s look on the waterhole Brendan took him to. Tom is moving no from darkness to light, as he is starting to see the beauty in things again.

Chrissy and Tom’s relationship makes Tom feel wanted, desired and appreciated. Chrissy gets Tom to talk, to explain what he feels, to try and make him feel better. “I felt lighter... I had no longer had the burden of carrying a secret...” Tom has