As the novel's central character and main narrator, Lily Bloom dominates How the Dead Live. Lily's name connects her to Leopold Bloom, the hero of James Joyce's Ulysses, and readers of the classic high modernist novel will no doubt detect some similarities between the two Blooms (their fascination with bodies, their earthy pragmatism, and so on). Lily's relationships with the novel's other characters propel the narrative.

Lily's two daughters, Natasha and Charlotte, are set up as opposites from the very beginning. Natasha is tall and thin; she has striking black hair and perfect cheekbones.

Lily describes Charlotte, on the other hand, as "a big, blonde, lumpy thing, like me."

These physical oppositions are not merely superficial; they are clearly meant to signify deeper personality traits. Charlotte is stable, secure, and reliable, while Natasha is hysterical, unpredictable, and addicted to heroin. Such contrasts between sisters are common in literature...