Biju
Biju is the cook's nineteen-year-old son. Persuaded by his father's urging and romanticized ideas of America, Biju moves to New York City as an undocumented immigrant. Isolated and insecure, Biju struggles to make ends meet and dreams of returning home.
Sai
Sai is the orphaned daughter of an interfaith couple. When her parents are tragically killed in the Soviet Union, Sai moves from her convent school to the home of her estranged grandfather, Judge Jemubhai Patel. She is introverted and studious, escaping her mundane life by reading travelogues and National Geographic magazine. When Sai begins her romantic affair with Gyan, she becomes unable to focus on anything else.
Jemubhai Patel (The Judge)
Jemubhai Patel was born into a working-class Gujerati family headed by a criminal father. When Jemu displays an aptitude for school, his parents arrange for him to marry a wealthy girl in order to use her dowry to pay for his Cambridge education. Jemu's traumatic experiences in England make him insecure and uncomfortable in India. He resents his family and severely abuses his wife. He only has unadulterated affection for his dog, Mutt.
Gyan
Gyan is a poor college graduate of Nepalese descent who Judge Patel hires to tutor Sai. When the Gorkha National Liberation Front gains influence, Gyan joins and cruelly betrays Sai, who he believes symbolizes the class of people who oppress him.
Bose
Bose is a fellow Indian national studying in England who befriends Judge Patel. Bose helped Jemu master British customs before joining the Indian Civil Service. Later in life, Bose tries to sue for a pension equal to a white man's, but Judge Patel refuses to help him.
Noni
Noni is a middle-aged, upper-class Bengali woman who never married and lives with her sister, Lola, on an estate called Mon Ami. Like her sister, Noni embraces elements of British culture. She tutors Sai for years, and, regretting having given up her dream of becoming an archaeologist, encourages Sai to seize any opportunities that come her way.
Saeed Saeed
Saeed Saeed is Biju's Zanzibarian friend and coworker at the Queen of Tarts Bakery. Saeed is gregarious and well-liked by people from every background. Biju's friendship with Saeed forces him to confront his prejudices. Saeed obtains a green card by marrying an American woman, whom he then amicably divorces when he finds true love.
Lola
Lola is Noni's opinionated, widowed sister. Lola's daughter, Pixie, works for the BBC; this is a point of pride for Lola, who idolizes British culture. Lola is prejudiced against Nepali people and adheres to a strict interpretation of class division.
Bomanbhai Patel
Bomanbhai Patel is Jemu's wealthy father-in-law. Bomanbhai made his fortune supplying the British army and then opened a brothel. He desires to appear wealthy and impressive and agrees to let Jemu marry his daughter simply because Jemu is pursuing a Cambridge education.
Nimi (Bela)
Nimi, originally named Bela, is Bomanbhai Patel's daughter and Jemu's wife. She agrees to marry when she is fourteen. When Jemu returns from England, Nimi initially resists his abuse. However, when she realizes he hates her for being Indian, Nimi becomes depressed and numb. In her loneliness, she accepts an invitation from Jemu's political rival, ruining Jemu's reputation. Jemu sends Nimi to live with her family, where she gives birth to their daughter, and is eventually murdered by her brother-in-law.
Kesang
Kesang is Noni and Lola's maid who went against her family's wishes to pursue an interfaith marriage.
Harish-Harry
Harish-Harry is the owner of Gandhi Cafe, an Indian restaurant in New York City that caters to Americans. Harish-Harry only employs undocumented Hindus like Biju, who he overworks because they have nowhere else to go. When Biju injures his leg, Harish-Harry refuses to pay for Biju's medical treatments and then manipulates him with gifts.
Father Booty
Father Booty is a Swiss missionary who lives in Kalimpong and runs a dairy farm. The text hints that he has a romantic relationship with Uncle Potty. Father Booty resides in India illegally for forty-five years before the Gorkha National Liberation Front forces him to leave.
Uncle Potty
Uncle Potty is the judge's nearest neighbor and the son of wealthy, disgraced parents. He is “a gentleman farmer and a drunk” who studied at Oxford and pursued many failed relationships with men. The text implies he is in a relationship with Father Booty.
Pradham
Pradham is the "maverick of Kalimpong" who directs the Gorkha National Liberation Front. When Lola pleads with Pradham to remove his followers from her land, he mocks her, calling himself the "raj" and suggesting she become his fifth wife.
