Alice Pung
Alice is a Chinese girl born in Australia. She is also the protagonist in the narrative. Born in a foreign country, Alice feels torn between two cultures. Her parents Kien and Kuan moved to Australia to escape the civil war in their native country. Alice is the first child in their entire family born on foreign soil.
In school, Alice feels the rift between her and other students in her class: she is neither Chinese nor Australian. Her inability to identify with one culture drives her into isolation. Her parents fail to notice her dilemma since they spend most of their time working to achieve the Australian dream. On the other hand, her grandmother Huyen Thai sees her granddaughter’s predicament and comes to her rescue. Huyen Thai tells Chinese stories to her granddaughter teaching her about Chinese culture. As the narrative concludes, Alice feels a sense of pride in her Chinese origin.
Kien Pung
Kien and her husband Kuan met in Cambodia. Kuan owned a factory and Kien was one of her employees. After war breaks out in Cambodia Kien and her parents escape to Vietnam. Kuan also flees to Vietnam where he meets Kien. After dating for a few months, Kien and Kuan get married and have their firstborn after moving to Australia.
Kien and her mother-in-law have a hostile relationship. Kien feels that her mother-in-law is creating a rift between her and her daughter. She becomes depressed to a point of threatening to commit suicide. To deal with the depression, Kien buries herself with making gold jewelry to help make ends meet. She believes that women who stay at home should also contribute to household earnings.
Kuan Pung
Kuan is a happy and kind man. He loves his family and works very hard to build a better life for them. Unlike his wife, Kuan is content with their life in Australia despite losing company in Cambodia. He is deeply in love with his wife and hopes that she finds solace in their new life. After they moved to Australia, Kuan immediately started taking English lessons. He worked several jobs each day before saving up enough money to start his electronic store. After years of persistence and hard work, Kuan has expanded his business into different locations.
Unlike his father who only favored sons, Kuan has a close relationship with his daughter. He rubs her feet when she is tired from school and teaches her that Adam, not Eve, is the one who is responsible for the fall of man.
