Herta Müller
The narrator in this story is never explicitly named, but many have noticed striking resemblances between the narrator's story and the author's own life. Many people believe this story is written autobiographically.
Herta's story is defined by the corruption of her innocence, having a father who worked as a Nazi soldier, and existing in a totalitarian regime where her life is tragic and painful. Many of her friends "commit suicide," but Herta suspects they were executed by the state.
Lola
The first girl's story sets the tone for the novel, both because the characters read Lola's diary (which is basically what the reader is doing, but with the narrator's "diary"), and also because Lola's story shows the corruption of the state.
Lola is mentally unhealthy the entire time. She often has random, anonymous sex with prisoners of the state who take the same bus as her to their slavish jobs. She is found dead, supposedly in an act of suicide.
Georg
Georg is a friend of the dorm girls. He is one of the first to read Lola's diary. The effect is that he becomes more willing to break the rules, but after a few years of dodging police attention, Georg relocates to Germany. Before long, he too is found dead, another alleged suicide.
Kurt
Kurt is friends with Georg and the girls. He reads Lola's diary too, and he hangs out with Lola's old friends. So, when the state begins to get suspicious, Kurt is placed in danger as well. He ends up graduating from college and working at a slaughterhouse.
Tereza
Tereza is a traitor. She was friends with Lola and the narrator, but after constantly running up against Captain Pjele, he must have found a way to twist her arm. By the end of the novel, the narrator is firmly convinced that although everything seems fine with Tereza, that perhaps Tereza is spying on her for the state.
Captain Pjele
This police officer has the authority to harass anyone whose behavior seems odd or suspicious. After Lola's life and legacy are denounced and disrespected, he notices that Lola's friends seem to have a familiar glint of anger in their eye. He begins harassing them and persecuting them in any way he can, interrogating them, spying on them, searching their belongings, embarrassing them—all in an attempt to find something he can punish them for.
