Meet the Cast
Alexander Perchov
Like Father, Unlike SonAlex is our narrator for most of the story. The letters to Jonathan and the chapters that sound as though they're written in another language and filtered through Google Tran...
Grandfather
Blind MellowLike his son and his grandson, Grandfather's name is Alex. Beside the name, though, these three stooges don't seem to have much in common. Well… we take that back. Anger does kind of...
Jonathan Safran Foer
Roman a Clef Usually, when an author sticks himself in a book, he pretties himself up a bit, making himself just a little bit smarter and wittier and better looking. Not Jonathan Safran Foer....
Safran
Un-Armed to the TeethSafran is Jonathan's grandfather and namesake. We first meet him in Chapter 16 ("The Dial, 1941-1804-1941) on the day of his wedding to Zosha, having sex with Zosha's sister.&#...
Yankel
Yankel Doodle DandyYankel is Jonathan's spiritual ancestor and namesake. No, he isn't really Jonathan Yankel Foer, but Yankel was named Safran before whatever happened to disgrace him, so that name...
Brod
And Then There's BrodBrod is Jonathan's great-times-five-or-six grandmother, and the story Jonathan (the character) comes up with surrounding her is almost too wildly supernatural to be true:Brod b...
The Kolker (Shalom from Kolki)
See SawShalom is from the village of Kolki, just like Alex's grandfather. Unlike Alex's grandfather, Shalom wins the Trachimday competition in which people dive into the river to retrieve bags that...
Lista P (a.k.a. Not-Augustine)
Making a Lista, Checking it Twice-aNot-Augustine is what we call the woman Alex thinks is Augustine, but turns out not to be. Clear as mud, right? Not-Augustine is the last surviving person from Tr...
The Gypsy Girl
She Was Born in the Wagon of a Traveling Show The Gypsy girl (who is probably not named Cher—although who knows?) is the only woman Safran actually loves. Not that he ever tells her this. Su...
Sammy Davis Junior, Junior
The Blind Leading the BlindSammy Davis Junior, Junior is Grandpa's Seeing Eye b****, which is "not only for blind people but for people who pine for the negative of loneliness" (1.10). So, she's ba...
The People of the Shtetl
Let's do a quick census just to cover the rest of the named people of the Shtetl who have a minor impact on the story.Trachim B's wagon accident, on March 18, 1791, sets the course for Trachimbrod...