The Underground Gardens (Characters)

Characters

Lucca Albanese

Lucca Albanese is another Italian American immigrant, and Baldasare's only friend in California. They meet while working in another man's vineyards.

Hiram Broadbent

Hiram Broadbent gets engaged to Ariadne Siagris after she rebukes Baldasare. When Baldasare tries to get Ariadne's attention by digging a heart-shaped hole under her window, Broadbent and his amateur boxing friend beat Baldasare so badly that he ends up in the hospital.

Baldasare Forestiere

Baldasare Forestiere is an optimistic young Italian American, based on an actual historical figure, who buys a seventy-acre plot of worthless central California land with the intention of growing grapevines. As the youngest of three Italian sons, he will probably not inherit his father's vineyards, and so he has left the comfort of Italy behind to make his own fortune in America. Although his dream of growing vineyards on his new land ultimately fails, Baldasare proves to be very resilient. His second dream is to marry Ariadne Siagris, the niece of old Siagris, a Greek drugstore owner. Baldasare pours his seemingly limitless energy into building a life with Ariadne.

Baldasare digs a cellar, thinking it will become part of the house he will build for himself and Ariadne, but then decides that an underground residence will be more sturdy and impressive. Over the span of a few years, he builds up a relationship with Ariadne, and tells her about his large house. When she finally agrees to see it, however, she does not share his enthusiasm for underground living and, in fact, thinks that Baldasare has duped her. When he hears that Ariadne has gotten engaged to somebody else, Baldasare does not give up, and tries to impress her by digging a heart-shaped hole underneath her window. This act prompts Ariadne's new fiancé, Hiram Broadbent, along with one of his friends, to beat up Baldasare. When Baldasare is released from the hospital, he gets the inspiration for his third and final dream — digging a massive set of underground gardens that will attract tourists and make him rich.

Euphrates Mead

Euphrates Mead, who never appears in the story except in letters, is the man who sells Baldasare his seventy-acre plot of California land.

Ariadne Siagris

Ariadne Siagris is a nineteen-year-old Greek woman, who comes to live with her uncle in California after her parents are killed at a railroad crossing. (In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete, the ruler who sacrificed Athenian youths to a monster known as the minotaur — a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a human. Ariadne helped one of the intended sacrificial victims, the Athenian hero Theseus, to escape from the labyrinth where the minotaur lived by giving the hero a ball of thread.) While living with her uncle, Ariadne works at his drugstore. Despite her education, she is not very good at reading menus or making change, and she begins to put on lots of weight from eating too much at the drugstore. She also develops red splotches on her skin, along with other imperfections. Through Baldasare's regular weekly visits to the drugstore, Ariadne learns that he has a big house and that he is interested in her. She agrees to see his house, but is mortified when she finds out it is underground. She rebukes Baldasare, refuses to see him, and promptly gets engaged to Hiram Broadbent.

Old Siagris

Old Siagris is Ariadne's Greek uncle, who takes in the young woman when her parents are killed. He is tolerant of Baldasare when he thinks that Baldasare might be able to marry and support Ariadne — and thus remove the financial burden from his own shoulders. But when Siagris learns that Baldasare's big house is underground, he bans Baldasare from his drugstore, and tells him he cannot see Ariadne anymore.

Media Adaptations

• Boyle's novel Budding Prospects was produced as an audiobook in 1994 by Books on Tape.
• Boyle's novel Drop City was produced as an audiobook in 2003 by Audio Books Unabridged.
• Boyle's novel A Friend of the Earth was produced as an audiobook in 2000 by Books on Tape.
• Boyle's novel The Road to Wellville was adapted as a feature film in 1994 by Columbia Pictures. The film, written and directed by Alan Parker, featured an all-star cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, and Dana Carvey. It is available on DVD and VHS from Columbia Tristar Home Video.
• Boyle's story collection Without a Hero was produced as an audiobook in 1994 by Books on Tape.