Ahmad – Massoumeh’s older brother
Akbar – communist party activist
Ali – Massoumeh’s younger brother
Amir-Hossein – old sweetheart of Mrs Parvin
Ardalan – Parvaneh’s son
Ardeshir – Mansoureh’s son
Asghar Agha – one of Massoumeh’s suitors
Atefeh – Massoud’s wife and Mr Maghsoudi’s daughter
Aunt Ghamar – Massoumeh’s maternal aunt
Bahman Khan – Mansoureh’s husband
Bibi – Hamid’s paternal grandmother
Dariush – Parvaneh’s younger brother
Dorna – Siamak and Lili’s daughter, Massoumeh’s first granddaughter
Dr Ataii – neighbourhood pharmacist
Ehteram-Sadat – Massoumeh’s maternal cousin and Mahmoud’s wife
Faati – Massoumeh’s younger sister
Faramarz Abdollahi – Shirin’s fiancé
Farzaneh – Parvaneh’s younger sister
Firouzeh – Faati’s daughter, Massoumeh’s niece
Gholam-Ali – Mahmoud’s eldest son
Gholam-Hossein – Mahmoud’s second son and youngest child
Grandmother – Massoumeh’s paternal grandmother
Granny Aziz – Massoumeh’s maternal grandmother
Haji Agha – Mrs Parvin’s husband
Hamid Soltani – Massoumeh’s husband, communist activist
Khosrow – Parvaneh’s husband
Ladan – Massoud’s fiancée
Laleh – Parvaneh’s second daughter
Lili – Parvaneh’s daughter
Mahboubeh – Massoumeh’s paternal cousin
Mahmoud – Massoumeh’s oldest brother
Manijeh – Hamid’s youngest sister, Massoumeh’s sister-in-law
Mansoureh – Hamid’s older sister, Massoumeh’s sister-in-law
Maryam – nosy classmate of Massoumeh
Massoud – Massoumeh’s son and second child
Massoumeh (Massoum) Sadeghi – narrator and protagonist of the novel
Mehdi – Shahrzad’s husband and co-leader of communist organisation
Mohsen Khan – Mahboubeh’s husband
Monir – Hamid’s oldest sister, Massoumeh’s sister-in-law
Mostafa Sadeghi (Agha Mostafa) – Massoumeh’s father
Mr and Mrs Ahmadi – Parvaneh’s parents
Mr Maghsoudi – Massoud’s fellow soldier at the war front and later his boss and father-in-law
Mr Motamedi – vice president at the government agency where Massoumeh is employed
Mr Shirzadi – a department director at the government agency where Massoumeh works
Mr Zargar – Massoumeh’s supervisor at the government agency
Mrs Parvin – next-door neighbour of Massoumeh’s family
Nazy – Saiid’s wife
Parvaneh Ahmadi – Massoumeh’s best friend
Sadegh Khan – Faati’s husband, Massoumeh’s brother-in-law
Saiid Zareii – Dr Ataii’s assistant pharmacist
Shahrzad (Aunt Sheri) – Hamid’s friend and co-leader of communist organisation
Shirin – Massoumeh’s daughter and youngest child
Siamak – Massoumeh’s son and first child
Sohrab – Firouzeh’s husband
Tayebeh (Mother) – Massoumeh’s mother
Uncle Abbas – Massoumeh’s paternal uncle
Uncle Asadollah – Massoumeh’s paternal uncle
Uncle Hamid (Hamid Agha) – Massoumeh’s maternal uncle
Zahra – Mahmoud’s daughter and middle child
Zari – Massoumeh’s older sister who died when Massoumeh was eight years old