Nico Bonaventura
Protagonist. Four years out of college.
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A Better Life
by Lionel Shriver
✓ No spoilers
Spoiler-Free Character Guide
Set in New York, A Better Life explores family relationships, immigration and conflicting ideas about opportunity and belonging. The story centres on the Bonaventura family and the tensions that emerge when their lives become entangled with those of immigrants seeking a better future.
Characters
Key characters in A Better Life, with a brief guide to who they are.
Gloria Bonaventura
Nico’s mother. Sixty-two and scrupulous about her figure.
Martine Salgado
An immigrant taken in by the Bonaventura family.
Vanessa Bonaventura
Nico’s older sister. Dresses in black, has low aspirations and lives in Bay Ridge.
Palermo Bonaventura
Nico’s sister. Five feet tall, overweight and indifferent about it. Lives in Queens.
Domingo
An acquaintance of Martine.
Alonso
An acquaintance of Martine.
Byron
Palermo’s husband.
Carlin Bonaventura
Nico’s father. Lives in Manhattan.
Vernon Carmichael
Longstanding Bonaventura family friend and film director. Animated, energetic and a good storyteller.
Colleen Carmichael
Longstanding family friend who edits her husband’s films. Wiry, wilful and opinionated.
Tyler Carmichael
An old high-school friend of Nico's who lives in Chicago. According to Nico, Tyler struggled at school and had problems with alcohol and drugs.
Kayla
A romantic acquaintance from Nico's past
Kumquat
Vanessa’s dog.
Lyla
Tyler Carmichael’s girlfriend.
About Lionel Shriver
Lionel Shriver is an American novelist known for exploring difficult social questions through complex characters and family relationships. Her best-known novel, We Need to Talk About Kevin, won the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction. Her fiction frequently examines identity, politics, personal responsibility and social conflict.
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