Characters

Characters

Jenny Diski

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Chloe

Mother

Father

Mona

A very elderly bird-watcher from Edinburgh who refuses to tell anyone her age- presented as somewhat mysterious. Her Husband Ted died, leaving her money which she uses to travel

Big Jim

A general practitioner from near Palm Springs, CA. He is very overweight, but jokes about it. He has 6 cats and collects Hollywood videos. In 1989, he got thyroid cancer and his wife died in a car crash. He travels a lot- Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, South Africa

Less Big Jim

An “ordinarily overweight” man from Saratoga Springs, NY. He knew someone who Jenny lived with when she went to Ballston Spa.

Butch

The expedition leader on the ship. A “tall, thick-necked American” who speaks disjointedly .

Emily and Manny Roth

A Jewish couple from Santa Fe, NM. Married for 45 years, always playfully arguing with each other. They are revealed to be controversial Zionists who tell Jenny she isn’t properly Jewish because Israel isn’t her homeland,

Stefan

The young tour guide in Ushuaia.

Sister Winniki

Estonian head nurse at the psychiatric hospital Jenny stayed at in London when she was 20/21. Described as energetic and “on top of everything”.

Context

Zionism (Emily and Manny)

A movement that campaigns for a homeland for Jewish people in Israel. Emerged in the late 19th century in Europe in response to rising antisemitism. Attila the Hun was the ruler of the Huns from 434-453. Meir Kahane was a Rabbi who supported violence against those he saw as enemies of the Jewish people and called for them to migrate to Israel.