Fade Themes & Characters

Fade Themes and Characters

Fade focuses primarily on one generation of the Moreaux family but actually reveals three generations: Paul Moreaux, a thirteen-year-old boy who inherits his uncle Adelard's ability to fade, and Ozzie Slater, the son of Paul's sister Rose, who is almost thirteen at the time Paul and Ozzie meet.

Paul is a sensitive, perceptive boy with strong family loyalty and a troubling conscience; he is especially protective of his younger brother, Bernard, and sympathetic toward, and simultaneously attracted to, his aunt Rosanna, who seems to be the black sheep of the family. He is never suspected of being a murderer because murder is out of character for him. On the other hand, Ozzie, a shy and reclusive boy, has been neglected by his adoptive mother, an alcoholic, and severely abused by his stepfather, who beat him unmercifully on numerous occasions. No one knows him well; he has no outlet...
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