Olivia Joules and The Overactive Imagination - Main Characters

Main Characters

Olivia Joules — A young freelance journalist who works for the Sunday Times and Elan International Magazine. While in Miami for the launch of a face cream marketed by Devorée, a celebrity, she meets Pierre Feramo. Something about his looks and mannerisms reminds her of Osama bin Laden, but she is strongly attracted to him and he apparently to her. Soon she is accepting dates with him around the world, trying to find out more about him, while his actions raise her suspicions.

She is an orphan (at fourteen, her parents and brother were run over by a lorry while she was buying Cosmopolitan and candy) and a dropout of Worksop Comprehensive (apparently a dreary school in the North Midlands of England), and has made up for her lack of university education by learning French, Spanish, German, and Arabic. In contrast to Bridget Jones, she is very intelligent, albeit rather paranoid at times, and has a svelte figure. Pierre Feramo seems to be drawn to her because she is English, polite, and very decent.

Pierre Feramo — The extravagantly rich, suave and handsome playboy who seems to be falling in love with Olivia Joules. He whisks Olivia away on extravagant dates in beautiful, luxurious hotels. He is apparently filming a film called Boundaries of Arizona, intended to help young wannabes break into the film industry. In actuality, he despises Hollywood and all that encompasses it. On one of his dates with Olivia, he tells her of his studies in France, his studies at Grasse where he became a "nose" for the French perfume industry. Pierre mentions a father whom he seems to fear and hate (and says nothing about his mother). Later in the book, we discover he is not French (just as Olivia had suspected), and is actually part Arab.

Suraya — A beautiful Indian model with silky black hair who often accompanies Pierre. She lives with him and becomes jealous when Pierre begins courting Olivia. She has traces of a West Coast drawl in her voice and Olivia believes she could be English from the notes of her accent. She behaves in a spoiled, bored manner and is treacherous when she does not get her way.

Morton C. — An intelligent diver of whom Olivia is quite fond. He is very masculine and self-assured and has a mysterious aura to him. Olivia befriends him and makes out with him in Honduras, until she becomes suspicious of his behaviour.