Faye

Faye is the main character in the novel and the narrator. She is a divorced mother who works as a writer. Faye has gone to Athens to teach a writing class. During most of the novel, she listens to people tell her about their own lives. However, Faye does not openly share about her own life. The personal stories she shares through the narratives of other people deal with marriage, illusion versus reality, the role of women, and storytelling itself.

Faye is blunt, often questioning other people. She questions the Greek man about his views of his second wife. She later questions him about his portrayal of his first wife, who does not seem like a great mother after he tells how she treated their son who suffers from schizophrenia. She also questions the fact that he blames his first ex-wife for the argument they had that led...