The male letter writer
One of the protagonists of “Children of the Sea.” After the military raids his radio show, he attempts to flee to the United States for political immunity.
The female letter writer
The other protagonist of “Children of the Sea.” She and the male letter writer are in love, but her father does not approve of the relationship. She remains in Haiti with her parents and hides from the military in the provinces.
Papa
The father of the female protagonist in “Children of the Sea.” He is practical and focuses on keeping his family safe, which means he often ignores the injustices happening around him.
Manman
The mother of the female protagonist in “Children of the Sea.”
Célianne
In “Children of the Sea,” she is a young pregnant woman also trying to escape to the United States via boat. In “Caroline’s Wedding," a mass is held for her at Saint Agnes Church in New York City.
Madan Roger
In “Children of the Sea,” she is the mother of a young revolutionary who was killed for his controversial beliefs.
Uncle Pressoir
The uncle of the female protagonist in “Children of the Sea.”
Josephine
The protagonist of “Nineteen Thirty-Seven.” She lives alone now because her mother was imprisoned for allegedly performing witchcraft.
Madonna
Josephine’s doll, passed down from her great-great-great-grandmother.
Manman/Défilé
In “Nineteen Thirty-Seven,” she is Josephine’s mother. Défilé is also the name of Josephine’s great-great-great-grandmother.
El Generalissimo
In “Nineteen Thirty-Seven,” he is the Dominican general in charge of the massacre of many Haitians living in the Dominican Republic.
Jacqueline
In “Nineteen Thirty-Seven,” she is an old woman who comes to tell Josephine about her mother’s life in prison.
Guy
The male protagonist of “A Wall of Fire Rising,” he is married to Lili and is the father of Little Guy. He is obsessed with a hot air balloon owned by the Assad family.
Lili
In “A Wall of Fire Rising,” she is the wife of Guy and the mother of Little Guy. Nurturing and caring, she worries about her husband’s obsession with the hot air balloon. In “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” we learn that Lili commits suicide in her older years.
Little Guy
In “A Wall of Fire Rising,” he is the son of Guy and Lili. The title of the short story is derived from a play Little Guy performs at school about a slave revolution.
The Assads
In “A Wall of Fire Rising,” a Haitian family of Lebanese or Palestinian descent that owns a sugar mill and the hot air balloon with which Guy is obsessed.
The Night Woman
In “Night Women,” she is the unnamed protagonist who struggles with keeping her nighttime suitors a secret from her young son.
The Night Woman's Son
In “Night Women,” he is the son of the night woman and is seemingly unaware of how his mother provides their livelihood.
Emmanuel
In “Night Women,” he is one of the night woman’s suitors. He is a doctor and visits on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Alexandre
In “Night Women,” he is one of the night woman’s suitors. He is an accordion player and visits on Mondays and Thursdays.
Marie
The protagonist of “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” she has had many miscarriages. Her grief over her lost children causes her to hallucinate and think that Rose is still alive.
Rose
In “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” she is a child who was abandoned by her parents in the streets of Haiti. She is dead, but Marie thinks she is alive and takes her home.
Madame
Marie’s employer in “Between the Pool and the Gardenias.” Marie steals Madame’s perfume to mask the smell of Rose’s decomposition.
Monsieur
Marie’s employer in “Between the Pool and the Gardenias.”
The Dominican
In “Between the Pool and the Gardenias,” he is a Dominican man who also works for Madame and Monsieur. He and Marie had sex once.
Lamort
The protagonist of “The Missing Peace,” she lives with her grandmother because her mother died during childbirth. For this reason she is named “Lamort,” which means “the death.”
Lamort’s grandmother
In “The Missing Peace,” she is the grandmother of “Lamort.” Strict with her granddaughter, she manages to provide a good life for the pair of them by renting rooms.
Marie Magdaléne
In “The Missing Peace,” she is the dead mother of Lamort.
Raymond
In “The Missing Peace,” he is a soldier in the new regime. He is friends with Lamort and tries unsuccessfully to seduce her.
Toto
In “The Missing Peace,” he is a solider in the new regime. He once shot Raymond in the leg because he did not know if he was part of the old or new regime.
Emilie Gallant
In “The Missing Peace,” she is a young American woman looking for her mother’s remains in Haiti.
Isabelle Grant
In “The Missing Peace,” she was a journalist and the mother of Emilie. Emilie believes she was killed during the night of the coup because she believed in the old regime.
Princesse
The protagonist of “Seeing Things Simply,” she models for Catherine’s nude portraits.
The old man
In “Seeing Things Simply,” he is an old man who habitually gets drunk and talks to Princesse on her way to and from Catherine’s house.
Catherine
In “Seeing Things Simply,” she is a painter from Guadeloupe who makes nude portraits and sells them in Europe.
Suzette
The protagonist in “New York Day Women,” she sees her mother walking through an unfamiliar part of New York City and decides to follow her.
Suzette’s mother
In “New York Day Women,” she is Suzette’s mother. Though she longs for Haiti, she has yet to return because of the death and loss that await her there.
The child
In “New York Day Women,” he is a young boy whom Suzette’s mother babysits in park while his mother goes for a jog.
Grace/Gracina
The protagonist in “Caroline’s Wedding,” she is the older sister of Caroline and was born in Haiti. At the beginning of the short story, she has successfully acquired her U.S. citizenship.
Caroline
The sister of Grace in “Caroline’s Wedding,” she is the titular character. She was born in the United States and has only one arm.
Hermine
In “Caroline’s Wedding,” she is the mother of Grace and Caroline and believes that Caroline is “settling” or “selling herself short” by marrying Eric.
Grace’s Father
In “Caroline’s Wedding,” he is the dead father of Grace and Caroline, and Hermine’s dead husband. He died of prostrate cancer ten years before the time of the short story.
Eric
In “Caroline’s Wedding,” he is Caroline’s Bahamian boyfriend. Hermine doesn’t approve of him because he is not Haitian and has a speech impediment.
Mrs. Ruiz
In “Caroline’s Wedding,” she is the Cuban neighbor of Grace and her family. She frequently holds large and loud family parties at her house.
Judge Perez
In “Caroline’s Wedding,” he is a judge friend of Eric’s who officiates the wedding ceremony for Eric and Caroline.
