Olive’s polite and friendly husband who, despite differences in temperament, remains deeply intertwined with her life throughout the novel.

Olive and Henry’s son, who shares a complicated and distant relationship with Olive, partly due to their similar, introverted nature.

A man Olive meets later in life, who shares her sense of loss and provides her with a newfound connection.

A talented pianist struggling with alcohol addiction, who spends her nights playing in a bar and grappling with her past decisions.

A young woman whose brief life, marked by an arrest and struggles with anorexia, leaves a significant impact on those around her.