Josephine and Her Mother
As central characters, Josie and her mother Christina are important to Looking for Alibrandi. For that reason Marchetta describes them in detail, including their physical characteristics. Because the descriptions are told from Josie’s point of view, they are tinted with her personality. For example, Christinta has a “beautiful olive complexion,” while Josie has “a few blemishes,” not pimples, because Josie hates using the word pimple. Another example of this would be when Marchetta describes their body types, and Josie says her mom is tall and slender, while she’ll probably never “get away with wearing a bikini in this lifetime” (Marchetta 18). These glimpses of Josie’s personality as she’s describing her and her mother allow us to characterize her further and really bring her character to life.
Josephine’s House
As a single parent, Christina is extremely proud of the life she’s been able to provide for Josie. Though modest, their living has been comfortable, and this is exhibited in the terrace home they have. Marchetta’s verbal illustration of the terrace reveals important details about Josie and her mother. The home is small, and the living and dining room are all in one. Josie claims it’s not squashy though, but that you do anything recreational in front of the tv, which suits her just fine. Clearly, she’s accustomed to making due with what she has. Another important detail about her house is the absence wedding photos and pieces of china that could have been wedding presents. This hints at the fact that Christina never married Josie’s father, and had her child out of wedlock. The lack of masculinity in the house solidifies this fact. Finally, there's a poster hanging on the wall that says “Josephine and Christina’s Place,” which tells us that Josie and her mother are a team, and they’ve made it just fine without Josie’s father.
Josephine Meeting Her Father
After wondering about her father for most of her life, Josie finally meets him at her grandmother’s house. That moment is described as adrenaline-filled, as Josie’s heart begins to pound and the hairs on her neck stand up on end. The moment is also described as a revelation, because many of the preconceived images Josie had of her father fly out of the window. Instead of being tall, he’s short, he’s not as attractive as she thought, and instead of appearing weak he actually looks strong. And just as Michael Andretti looks different from what Josie expected, their meeting doesn’t go as she expected. Instead of a tearful reconciliation full of apologies from her dad, it’s an awkward and short conversation. All of these thwarted expectations teach Josie how to expect the unexpected and roll with life’s punches.
Arriving in Australia
For many immigrants, the moment of arrival in the new country is exciting, scary, and anxiety-inducing. This is certainly true for Nonna Katia, who tells Josie in detail what moving to Australia was like for her. Katia describes the confusion she felt at hearing a language other than Sicilian, and the strange antics of the Australian men and women she encountered. To her, it felt like going to another planet, not just to another country. Once she and her husband moved from the bustling city of Brisbane to the town of Ingham near the outback, these differences between Katia’s home country and her new country were compounded. There were snakes everywhere, and the heat was intolerable. By illustrating in detail Nonna Katia’s experiences upon arriving in Australia, Marchetta explains the hardships and culture shock most immigrants experience when leaving home.
