Simon

Simon is the central character/protagonist. He was assigned the age of 45, at the camp at Belstar, based solely on his appearance. At the time, Simon was offended by this age because he believed himself to be much younger but later, after spending time working in a physically demanding job, he starts to suspect that he might be much older.

Nothing at all is revealed to the reader about Simon’s past, where he came from, or what his life was like before he arrived in Novilla. All that is certain is that Simon met David while they were travelling together by boat and that Simon began to take care of David because the boy had been separated somehow from his parents. The relationship between Simon and David is the central relationship of the novel and most of Simon’s actions are motivated by his desire to do...