Simon (Si) Morley

Si is the novel's central character, an attractive but somewhat aimless young man who seems to be in his late twenties or early-to-mid thirties. His outlook on life at the beginning of the novel is summed up in the first of the "Quotes" listed in this analysis - he sees his existence as empty, pointless, and devoid of both feeling and meaning. That being said, he does exhibit the admirable trait of compassion as shown through several circumstances in the novel. These include his striving to solve the mystery troubling his girlfriend, his desire that the woman he loves in the past not be condemned to a life of suffering, and his unexpected rescue of the girl trapped in the fire. For the most part, though, he feels emptiness at the heart of his life, an emptiness that gets filled as the result of his experiences...