Raymond Ding
Protagonist of the novel. The first born of the Ding family, he carries with him a lot of the cultural guilt that comes with upholding certain responsibilities as expected in a male first-born Chinese son. Having been born and raised in the US he is the result of a collision of two cultures and this cultural tug of war is always at play within him; always torn between being wanting to be the dutiful Chinese son and fulfilling the “American Dream” of being an independent, self-made man.
Darleen Ding
Estranged ex-wife of Raymond. She holds and MBA and is a CPA. She is also of pure ethnic Chinese ancestry and unlike other successive-generation migrants she is actually fluent in her parent’s native tongue/dialect, Cantonese. Darleen is also aware and sensitive to the numerous social nuances that surround the interactions of the migrant Chinese community. The combination of these characteristics made Darleen the “Perfect Chinese Wife” and the marriage made Raymond’s parents exceedingly happy.
Aurora Crane
A beautiful photojournalist with a fiery, outspoken temperament. She traces her roots from both Irish and Japanese ancestry and although the novel is set in the 90’s she still fights an uphill battle with racial and gender stereotypes. Her straightforwardness and no-nonsense attitude coupled with a very different outlook upon the issue of race often cause friction between her and Raymond.
Betty Nguyen
A fellow academician and colleague of Raymond, Betty hails from Vietnam and is a survivor not just of the war that ravaged her homeland but also of a relationship with an abusive ex-husband. Understandably Betty carries with her some deep emotional and physical scars that often come to the fore in her relationship with Raymond.
Woodrow Ding
Raymond Ding’s father. He comes from a generation of migrant Chinese where the US government eased their foreign policies so although he has never really been to his ethnic homeland he is very particular about upholding and enforcing Chinese traditions. He, like his other siblings born in his generation are named after U.S. presidents.
