Sold Characters

Even though we know Lakshmi's intimate thoughts—her confusion, her fears, her hopes—because the novel is told in first person, her character always remains kind of a mystery in Sold. "Wait," yo...

Ama is Lakshmi's mom, and it's from her that Lakshmi takes her cues for strength and resilience. She works hard, treats her husband well, and tries to scrape together a life for herself. Lakshmi re...

Although Lakshmi doesn't realize it at the time, Shahanna is one of the first girls who greets her at Happiness House. Shahanna is pretty with nut-brown skin, and from Nepal just like Lakshmi. In f...

Like Lakshmi, Anita is also from Nepal. Once, before Lakshmi came to the brothel, Anita tried to escape the brothel—and the goondas, men Mumtaz hires to keep the girls in the brothel in line, cau...

There is one girl here who gets the most customers. She is not the prettiest among us—she has a face like a fox and pointy gray teeth—but she is the boldest. (99.Monica.1)Lakshmi's description...

Okay. There are few opportunities to be lighthearted and silly while reading a book on such a heavy topic, so we'd like to just pause here for a moment to make sure you know who David Beckham is. H...

One of the people Lakshmi shares a room with is Pushpa, a woman who came to Happiness House after her husband died. She only wants stability for her children, so like Lakshmi's mother, she sacrific...

Cruella de Vil. Maleficent. Ursula the Sea Witch.Bundled all together, these villains have nothing on Mumtaz.The owner of Happiness House is almost the quintessential villain: greedy, cruel, manipu...

The First American Although Lakshmi distrusts him because of the stories Anita has told her, the first American (who is blond and blue-eyed) to visit her persists in trying to communicate with Laks...