Minor Characters
Khoi Legaspi
Claire’s boyfriend in “The Americans.” Legaspi is working on a robot that can improve the de-mining effort in Vietnam, making it safer and more cost-effective. Carver critiques Legaspi’s naïveté, arguing that the department of defense can use it for less humanitarian purposes.
The Ghostwriter’s Father
The father of the ghostwriter in “Black-Eyed Women.” He was drafted and fought in the war before fleeing with his wife (the ghostwriter’s mother), his son (the ghostwriter’s brother), and the ghostwriter. He died a few years prior to the beginning of the narrative.
Michiko
Carver’s wife and Claire’s mother in “The Americans.” Michiko is Japanese, but she does not appear to feel the same frustration with Claire as her husband does when Claire says that she feels more at home in Vietnam than she does in America.
Vinh
Mrs. Khanh and Professor Khanh’s son in “I’d Love You to Want Me.” He suggests that his mother quit her job at the library in order to spend more time taking care of the professor.
Thomas’s mother
The mother of Thomas, the narrator of “Someone Else Besides You,” and the wife of Mr. P. Thomas’s mother dies of an aneurysm before the story begins.
Men Vu
The organ donor who provides Arthur with a new liver in “The Transplant” after he was killed by a hit-and-run. Louis Vu pretends to be Men’s son, but Men’s actual son is Minh Vu.
The first Mrs. Ly/Vivien’s mother
Mr. Ly’s first wife and the mother of Vivien in “Fatherland.”
Phuong’s mother
Mr. Ly’s second wife and the mother of Phuong in “Fatherland.”
Mimi
Mr. P.’s girlfriend in “Someone Else Besides You.”
Minh Vu
Men Vu’s son in “The Transplant.”
William
James Carver's son in "The Americans." William has become a pilot, just as Carver once was, though William is unhappy and bored because he is flying a refueling plane rather than a fighter.