| Intro | Pete | Robinson | The novel narrator. An unemployed school teacher. |
| | Jim | Kunkel | The town's ex-mayor. |
| | Meredith | Robinson | Pete's wife. |
| | | | Novel |
| | Helen | Mooney | Meredith's mother. |
| | Ray | Conover | Pete's co-teacher. |
| | Miriam | Conover | Ray's wife. |
| | Doug | | Pete's co-teacher. |
| | Marty | | Pete's co-teacher. |
| | Simone | | Pete's co-teacher. |
| | Jerry | Henderson | One of the Rotary guys. |
| | Bill | Nixon | One of the Rotary guys. |
| | Dick | Morton | One of the business professionals. |
| | Abraham | De Leon | One of the business professionals. |
| | Tom | Thompson | One of the business professionals. |
| | Terry | Heinemann | One of the business professionals. |
| | Robert | Isaac | One of the business professionals. |
| | Dr. | Peterson | One of Pete's friends. |
| | Allan | | One of Pete's co-teachers. |
| | Rita | Henderson | Jerry's wife. A volunteer librarian. |
| | Linda | Henderson | Jerry and Rita's dead daughter. |
| | Ben | Webster | Pete's former pupils. |
| | Ed | Benson | The man Chuck had a conflict with. |
| | Chuck | Webster | Ben's father. |
| | Barbara | Nixon | Bill's wife. |
| | Paul | Garrison | One of Pete's
acquaintances. |
| | Cindy | Garrison | Paul's wife. |
| | Mindy | Garrison | Paul and Cindy's daughter. |
| | Sheila | Moody | One of the mothers at the library. |
| | Steven | Moody | One of the mothers at the library. |
| | Susy | Jordan | Jenny's daughter. |
| | Brad | Jordan | Jenny's son. |
| | David | | One of the kids who attended "Story Time". |
| | Tim | | One of the kids who attended "Story Time". |
| | Jane | | One of the kids who attended "Story Time". |
| | Sarah | | One of the kids who attended "Story Time". |
| | Bob | Isaac | The trance coach. |
| | Betsy | Isaac | Bob's wife. |
| | Mary | Brown | A nurse at the emergency room. |
| | Harley | Geer | One of the pit-related patients. |
| | Sheila | wells | One of the pit-related patients. |
| | Drew | Smith | One of the pit-related patients. |
| | Jeff | | Bill's son. |
| | Claire | | The waitress. |
| | Dave | Jordan | Jenny's husband. |
| | Dan | Gleason | A local boat basin worker. |
| | Linda | Hamilton | One of the villagers. |
| | Bob | Hamilton | Linda's husband. |
| | Bob | Barrow | An anthropology professor. |
| | Deborah | Harris | Owner of an automatic garage. |
| | Carl | Harris | Deborah's husband. |
| | Matt | Harris | Carl and Deborah's son. |
| | Larry | Harris | Matt's twin. |
| | Hiram | Kinsey | One of Pete's
acquaintances. |
| | Delia | Kinsey | Hiram's wife. |
| | Karen | Kinsey | Hiram and Delia's daughter. |
| | Dick | Morton | A clothing store owner. |
| | Hope | | One of the students. |
