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Nora Seed
A British woman in her thirties and the novel’s protagonist. As the novel begins, Nora is plagued with regret and despair and attempts to end her life. As she journeys between infinite versions of her life, facing regrets and learning the nature of reality, she realizes that she has judged herself too harshly and valued the wrong things in life. She discovers that she wants a life filled with love and kindness.
Mrs. Elm
Nora’s high school librarian and the librarian of the Midnight Library. Guiding Nora with wisdom, kindness, and honesty, Mrs. Elm helps Nora through two of the most difficult moments of her life: when she learns her father died and when she searches for the meaning of life after her suicide attempt. In the Midnight Library, Mrs. Elm is a mentor, steering Nora toward finding deeper meaning in her life.
Joe Seed
A gay musician and Nora’s brother. In variations of their lives, Joe and Nora’s fates are often intertwined in complex ways that can help or harm them. In their root life, Nora and Joe are estranged, but when Nora survives her suicide attempt, the siblings recognize the importance of their relationship.
Dan Lord
Nora’s ex-fiancée and the novel’s antagonist. Throughout the lives that Nora and Dan share together, Dan is often a negative influence on Nora, undercutting her self-belief and pulling focus from her dreams. When Nora visits the life in which she stayed with Dan, she sees many of these negative qualities through new eyes.
Izzy Hirsh
Nora’s closest friend and a whale watching tour guide. In her root life, Nora feels estranged from Izzy because she didn’t join Izzy on a move to Australia. However, when she visits that version of her life, Izzy has died in a car wreck, which relieves Nora of her regret. In most other iterations of life, though, Izzy stays her own course, no matter what Nora does.
Ravi
The drummer of Nora and Joe’s band, The Labyrinths. Ravi blames Nora for Joe’s lack of success in their root life and has a generally antagonistic relationship with Nora.
Mr. Banerjee
Nora’s kind, old neighbor in her root life whom she brings medicine. In a life in which Nora isn’t Mr. Banerjee’s neighbor, he ends up in a residential treatment home, which illustrates to Nora the power of small acts of kindness.
Nora’s Mom
Nora’s mother, who generally treats her as though she’s a mistake in need of correcting. However, throughout her journeys through different lives, Nora empathizes with her mother, who struggled in her root life with her unhappy father.
Nora’s Dad
Nora’s father. Driven, bitter, and self-involved, Nora’s father is most interested in Nora when she is swimming and otherwise doesn’t pay much attention to her. He dies when she is a teenager, which fills her with regret. However, in the life where she became an Olympic swimmer and he lived much longer, she saw that his love for her was still conditional on her success.
Ash
A surgeon and an acquaintance of Nora’s in her root life. Kind, attentive, and steady, Ash is the last person to show Nora kindness before she kills herself. The life in which they are together with a daughter is the closest thing to a perfect life that Nora can find.
Molly
Nora and Ash’s daughter in the good life. Sweet, inquisitive, and attentive, Molly steals Nora’s heart almost immediately. She loves her daughter immensely, and it breaks her heart when she leaves that life.
Hugo
A fellow traveler between lives. Hugo and Nora encounter each other in a few lives. Superior, unnerving, and intriguing, Hugo teaches Nora about the structure of sliding between lives, and they form a connection.
Ryan Bailey
A famous actor who Nora has a celebrity crush on. In her rock star life, Nora dates and breaks up with Ryan Bailey, who is self-involved and a little dim.
Dylan
Nora’s boyfriend in her gentle life. Sweet, kind, and not very bright, Dylan is happy with whatever happens to him. Nora leaves the gentle life because she believes Dylan deserves the Nora who loves him.
Leo
A teenager and Nora’s one piano student. Through seeing Leo’s life without the piano, Nora learns that her piano lessons help keep him out of trouble and have a big impact on the course of his life.
Neil
Nora’s boss at String Theory, who fires in her root life.
Nadia
Nora’s father’s wife in the life in which she’s an Olympic swimmer.
Kerry-Anne
An acquaintance of Nora’s who went to high school with her.
Ingrid
Nora’s bunkmate in her glaciologist life.
Joanna
Nora’s manager in her rockstar life.
