| | | Book I Italy |
1 | Giovanni | | Liz's acquaintance. |
| Dario | | Giovanni's twin brother. |
| Sofie | | Liz's friend. |
| Elizabeth M. | Gilbert | A writer. Aka: Liz. |
4 | Charlton | Heston | An American actor. |
5 | Lily | Tomlin | An American actress. |
| Mahatma | Gandhi | An Indian activist. |
| Nelson | Mandela | Former President of South Africa. |
| David | | Liz's boyfriend. |
| Brian | | One of Liz's friends. |
6 | Nick | | One of Liz's friends. |
8 | James | Brown | An American singer. |
| Ketut | Liyer | A medical man. |
9 | Rumi | | A 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar and theologian. |
| Iva | | Liz's friend. |
| Miss | Carpenter | Liz's fourth grade teacher. |
11 | Shelley | | A romantic poet. |
12 | Pliny the Elder | | A Roman author. |
| Dr. | Seuss | An American author. |
| Robert | Lowell | An American poet. |
| Celeste | | Liz's acquaintance. |
13 | Luca | Spaghetti | Patrick McDevitt's friend. |
| Patrick | McDevitt | Liz's buddy. |
15 | Dante | Alighieri | The great Florentine poet. |
| Giovanni | Boccaccio | An Italian writer. |
| | Petrarch | A scholar and a poet. |
| William | Shakespeare | An English poet. |
20 | Elizabeth 1 | | A novelist. |
| Elizabeth 2 | | A food writer. |
| Maria | | One of Liz's friends. |
| Giulio | | Maria's husband. |
| Anne | | An American painter. |
| Dennis | Ha-Ha | Brian's friend. |
| Giuliana | | Lucas's girlfriend. |
22 | Scott | | One of Liz's friends. |
23 | Nonno | Spaghetti | Lucas's grandfather. |
24 | Marco | | One of Liz's friends. |
25 | Peter Paul | Rubens | A Flemish artist. |
| Alfred | Tennyson | A British poet. |
| Stendhal | | A French writer. |
| | Balzac | A French novelist. |
| Franz | Liszt | A Hungarian composer. |
| Thackeray | | A cartoonist. |
| | Byron | A British poet. |
| John | Keats | An English romantic poet. |
| Christina | | The Queen of Sweden. |
| Pauline | | Napoleon's scandalous sister. |
| Napoleon | | A French statesman. |
| Octavian | Augustus | A Roman statesman. |
| Benito | Mussolini | The former Prime Minister of Italy. |
26 | Edward | Gibbon | An English historian. |
27 | Wade | | One of Liz's friends. |
28 | Sally | | One of Liz's friends. |
29 | Catherine | | Liz's older sister. |
| Franklin | Roosevelt | The 32nd U.S. President. |
30 | Deborah | | One of Liz's friends. |
| Virginia | Woolf | An English writer. |
32 | Terry | | Liz's uncle. |
| Deb | | Terry's wife. |
| Michael | Angelo | An Italian sculptor. |
| Giacomo | Puccini | An Italian composer. |
33 | Stevie | Nicks | An American singer-songwriter. |
| Demetrio | Albertini | Lazio's star player. |
34 | Mario | | Lucas's friend. |
| Simona | | Mario's wife. |
| George | Bush | The 43rd U.S. President. |
| Silvio | Berlusconi | Former Prime Minister of Italy. |
| Giulia | | Mario's daughter. |
| Sara | | Giulia's twin sister. |
| Paolo | | Lucas's friend. |
| Neil | Young | A Canadian singer-songwriter. |
36 | Plato | | An Athenian philosopher. |
| Luigi | Barzini | An Italian journalist. |
| | | Book II India |
37 | Arturo | | A Mexican journalist. |
38 | Apollonius | of Tyrana | A Greek ambassador. |
| Thick Nhat | Hahn | A Vietnamese monk. |
41 | Corella | | Liz's roommate. |
43 | Richard | | One of Liz's friends. |
44 | Groceries | | Liz's nickname given by Richard. |
46 | Hafez | | A Persian poet. |
| Swamiji | | Guru's master. |
47 | Ignatius | | A Spanish Basque Catholic priest and theologian. |
48 | Ray | Charles | An American singer-songwriter. |
49 | Rob | | Liz's acquaintance. |
| Sean | | An Irish dairy farmer. |
| Walt | Whitman | An American poet. |
51 | Mr. | Panicar | A tailor. |
53 | Eugene | Callender | A civil rights leader. |
| Martin | Luther King Jr. | An American minister and activist. |
54 | Nick | | Liz's nephew. Aka: Nicky. |
| Sri | Ramakrishna | An Italian saint. |
55 | | | Dalai Lama - Title given to the spiritual leader of the Gelug. |
56 | Darcy | | One of Liz's friends. |
59 | Tulsi | | One of Liz's friends. |
60 | Vivian | | One of Liz's friends. |
62 | Sakshi | | Liz's acquaintance. |
64 | Sextus | | An ancient
Pythagorean philosopher. |
65 | Julie | McCoy | A Yogic cruise director. |
| Richard | Dreyfuss | An American actor. |
66 | Leo | Tolstoy | A Russian writer. |
67 | Sri Ramana | Maharshi | An Indian Guru. |
68 | Count | Basie | An American jazz pianist. |
70 | James | Joyce | An Irish novelist. |
| Bobby | | One of Liz's friends. |
| Pope | Pius XI | The head of the Catholic church. |
| | | Book III Indonesia |
74 | Nyoman | | Liz's Italian-Indonesian friend. Aka: Mario. |
| Wayan | | One of the name given to Bali's children. |
| Made | | One of the name given to Bali's children. |
75 | Anne | Barros | An American Yoga teacher. |
76 | Fred B. | Eiseman | An Indonesian
anthropologist. |
| Margaret | Mead | An American cultural anthropologist. |
77 | Carmen | Miranda | A singer. |
80 | George | Krauser | A German photographer. |
| Walter | Spies | A German painter. |
| Noel | Coward | An English playwright. |
| Claire | Holt | An Australian actress. |
| Charlie | Chaplin | An English comic actor. |
82 | Nyomo | | Ketut's brother's wife. |
83 | Yudhi | | Liz's new friend. |
| Ann | | Yudhi's wife. |
84 | Ango | Patih | One of Liz's invisible siblings. |
| Maragio | Patih | One of Liz's invisible siblings. |
| Banus | Patih | One Liz's invisible siblings. |
| Banus | Patih Ragio | One of Liz's invisible siblings. |
| Jack | | A male monkey. |
86 | Wayan | Nuriyasih | A Balinese healer. |
| Tutti | Nuriyasih | Wayan's daughter. |
88 | Armenia | | Wayans friend. |
89 | Stefania | | Liz's Italian friends. |
| Ian | Welsh | Liz's acquaintance. |
| Ralph | Fiennes | An English actor. |
| Felipe | | One of Liz's friends. |
91 | Big Ketut | | One of the orphans. |
| Little Ketut | | One of the orphans. |
92 | Nostradamus | | A French astrologer. |
| John 1 | | One of Liz's friends. |
| Annie | | One of Liz's friends. |
| Bob | | One of Liz's friends. |
96 | Gloria | Steinem | An American journalist. |
| Bill | Clinton | The 42nd U.S. President. |
98 | Gale | | Liz's grandfather's second wife. |
| Bette | Davis | An American actress. |
| Milton | Bradley | An American business magnate. |
100 | Paul | Gauguin | A French artist. |
102 | Adam | | A screenwriter. |
| John 2 | | Son of Wayan's patient. |
103 | Kafka | | A Jewish novelist. |
104 | Graham | Green | An English novelist. |
105 | Putu | | A little girl who was baptized. |
106 | Julie | Andrews | An English actress. |