A Little Life characters

Appears from the start

A gifted but intensely private young lawyer who has recently moved to New York with three college friends. He walks with difficulty because of an old injury, sometimes suffers disabling episodes of pain, and refuses to explain either his childhood or the source of his scars. He is generous to his friends but reluctant to accept care from them.

Appears from the start

Jude's roommate and closest friend, an aspiring actor who supports himself with restaurant work while seeking roles. Kind, observant, and patient, he is the member of the group most alert to Jude's physical pain and the limits Jude places around his past.

Appears from the start

One of the four college friends beginning adult life in New York. JB is ambitious, witty, and socially confident, and plans to build a career as a visual artist. His paintings draw on images of his friends and their shared world.

Appears from the start

The fourth member of the central group, raised in an affluent New York family and training to become an architect. Reserved and uncertain of his place in his own household, he envies the apparent decisiveness of his friends while trying to establish an independent career.

First appears in chapter 2

Jude's longtime physician and friend. He treats the recurring infections and pain caused by Jude's damaged legs, urges him to protect his health, and recognizes signs that Jude tries to hide from everyone else.

First appears in chapter 4

A law professor who becomes Jude's mentor and offers him a form of steady parental affection. Harold is intellectually curious, warm, and persistent without demanding an account of the history Jude will not discuss.

First appears in chapter 4

Harold's wife, who joins him in welcoming Jude into their home and family. Her calm affection helps make their house a place where Jude can participate in family life without having to explain himself.

First appears in chapter 5

The social worker who cared for Jude during adolescence and helped him prepare for college. Although she died before the friends' New York years, Jude remembers her as one of the first adults to give him practical help and insist that a different future was possible.

First appears in chapter 7

A senior partner at the firm where Jude builds his legal career. Demanding but impressed by Jude's ability and discipline, Lucien becomes an important professional mentor.

First appears in chapter 8

An artist in the friends' wider New York circle. Richard owns the building where Jude later lives and offers friendship without pressing Jude for explanations he is unwilling to give.

First appears in chapter 10

A confident fashion executive whom Jude meets in middle age. Sophisticated, attentive, and direct in his interest, Caleb becomes Jude's first serious romantic partner.

First appears in chapter 16

A monk from the monastery where Jude spent his earliest years. He singled Jude out for attention and presented himself as a protector, making him a central figure in Jude's fragmentary memories of childhood.