Avatara “Avey” Johnson 

Avey, the novel’s protagonist, is a sixty-four-year-old Black woman and the widowed mother of three adult daughters. While on a Caribbean cruise with two women she’s traveled with previously, Avey begins experiencing hallucinations and feeling physically ill. She thus forfeits the rest of her trip and plans to immediately find a way home from Grenada, the cruise ship’s next port of call. After staying one night in Grenada, she awakens the next morning and takes a long walk down the beach, not realizing how far she has traveled. Nearing exhaustion and desperate for shelter, she stumbles into Lebert Joseph’s quaint rum bar. He convinces Avey to travel with him on “excursion” to Carriacou, where Avey finally recognizes the importance of maintaining a connection to her heritage. Avey’s journey is one of self-realization; Lebert’s daughter provides a symbolic baptism before the traditional festivities on Carriacou, and Avey’s rebirth during the ceremony indicates an increased and healthy awareness of her own strength and history.

Jerome “Jay” Johnson 

Jay is Avey’s husband, who died four years before Avey’s trip to Carriacou. During the early years of their marriage, Jay was a man who enjoyed music, dancing, laughing, and quiet moments with his wife. In an effort to provide for his growing family, however, Jay began working two or three jobs at a time. His relationship with Avey became increasingly tense until one night an explosive argument forever altered their relationship. Jay relied on his own efforts to become socially mobile, and to that end, he was successful. The Johnson family eventually moved out of their small apartment on Halsey Street in Brooklyn and into a house in North White Plains. Yet he and Avey never made an effort to improve their relationship, and Jay grew so distant from his wife that she began thinking of him by the much more formal “Jerome” in the latter years of their marriage. In Grenada, Avey realizes that her beloved Jay died during that terrible argument many years ago, and she mourns this unbearable loss. By contrast, she did not shed a tear for Jerome Johnson at his funeral.

Aunt Cuney 

As a child, Avey is sent to her great-aunt Cuney every August for four consecutive summers. Aunt Cuney places a great sense of importance on sharing with Avey the story of the Ibos, who were captured in Africa and brought to Tatem in South Carolina; rather than face slavery, they turned around and walked back across the water. They have been remembered and celebrated because of their ability to walk on water and because of their determined voices, loud enough to be heard all over the island. While Avey is aboard the Bianca Pride, her great-aunt appears to her in a dream and summons her to move forward. When Avey refuses, the old woman engages in a physical altercation with her. Later, Avey is almost able to see her great-aunt during the celebration on Carriacou. Great-Aunt Cuney is Avey’s connection to her own ancestral heritage, and her decision to go back to South Carolina and restore the old house where she spent those childhood summers indicates Avey’s recognition of the importance of her ancestors’ influence. 

Thomasina Moore 

Thomasina is one of Avey’s traveling companions and insists on dictating the details of their trips with a commanding presence. Avey quietly prepares to leave their trip in the middle of the night, undoubtedly attempting to avoid some of Thomasina’s fury. Nevertheless, when Thomasina is predictably outraged to learn that Avey is leaving the cruise to find a route home, Avey stands her ground. Thomasina...