Conrad
Conrad is the man character in the book, a young man who tried to kill himself approximately eight months before the beginning of the novel. When the novel begins, Conrad returns home after a period of eight moths spent in a mental hospital. The novel then follows his progress and his efforts to behave in a manner perceived as being normal by those around him. Conrad was born in a good family but his life was affected by his brother’s death. Conrad’s brother, Buck, died during a sailing accident and Conrad blamed himself for what happened to his brother. Because of that, and because he felt like he was not good enough, he tried to kill himself by slitting his wrist. When he returned back home, Conrad had to deal with a number of issues linked to his family. Conrad’s mother, Beth, became distant after Conrad tried to kill himself and this affected the boy in a negative way. Towards the end of the novel, Conrad comes to accept what happened to him and to his brother, beginning his journey of healing. While he was far from being healed, Conrad was confident that he could learn how to live a happy and healthy life.
Buck
Buck is another important character in the novel even though he never appears physically in the novel. Buck was Conrad’s big brother, someone Conrad loved and even worshiped. Buck was someone who had many talents and who was a skilled swimmer, many comparing Conrad to his brother. Buck loved Conrad and he was willing to do everything to keep him safe. He probably tried to save Conrad during the sailing accident in which he died and because of that Conrad blamed himself for his brother’s death.
Beth
Beth is in the novel Conrad’s mother and Cal’s wife. Beth is described as being a beautiful woman, someone who still maintained her beauty despite her age and the fact that she had two children. From the outside, her relationship with Cal appeared to be perfect but the truth is that their relationship was affected by the death of one of their children, Buck. After his death, Conrad tried to kill himself and unfortunately Beth did not knew how to react and how to take care of him. Beth was ashamed to admit that one of her sons tried to kill himself and Conrad thinks that one of the reasons why Beth could not forgive him was because he put her in a bad position. Beth is a complex character that is not completely revealed in the novel. she is mysterious and cold and the reason why she is cold is not entirely revealed. However, she does love her children in her own way and Conrad realizes that she is loved by Beth even though she decides in the end to leave her family behind.
Jeannine
Jeannine is the girl Conrad falls in love with. Jeannine moved to the town where Conrad lived around the same time when Conrad returned from the mental hospital. The relationship between Conrad and Jeannine helps Conrad grow and in her presence, he is no longer a victim but rather someone he can count on. Jeannine lives in a broken home, her parents being divorced and her mother engaging in a promiscuous behavior, and she ends up looking for comfort in Conrad’s presence. Even though he is far from being perfect, the two get along well and they are happy when they are in each other’s presence.
Mike
Mike is Jeannine’s younger brother who appears a couple of times during Conrad’s visits. The young boy is interested in music and Conrad tries to be a positive influence for him, helping him find what he is really passionate about. It is from Mike Conrad finds out about Jeannine’s mother and about her tendency to have different boyfriends over.
Arnold Bacon
Arnold Bacon is another man who never appears in the novel. He used to be Cal’s mentor, the person who paid for his education. When Cal got married to Beth, Bacon refused to pay for Cal education, claiming that a wife will stop Cal from reaching his true potential.
Dr. Berger
Dr. Berger is the psychiatrist who takes over Conrad’s case when he returns back home. In the beginning, Conrad is wary of Dr. Berger, not knowing whether he can trust him or not. After a few sessions, Conrad decides that Dr. Berger is trust worthy and he begins to open up to him. Cal also becomes a patient to Dr. Berger and the time the two spent together helped him figure out why the relationship between him and Beth was not working. In the prologue, Conrad visits Dr. Berger once more, claiming that they were now friends, hinting thus that he trusted the doctor on a personal level.
Joe Lazenby
Joe is one of Conrad’s closest friends and also one of his team mates in the swimming team. The two were close before Conrad tried to kill himself and when Conrad returned back home Joe was among the only one in their group who accepted Conrad back with open arms and even tried to convince the other to include him in their activities. Joe and Conrad’s friendship reaches a standstill when Conrad does not tell Joe that he quit the swimming team. The two reconcile at the end of the novel and Conrad makes a promise to himself to try and make amends to his friend.
Ray Stanley
Ray is Cal’s college and legal partner. The two often talk and Cal reveals sometimes information about himself and his family to Ray who then tries to offer him advice on how to solve his problems.
Leo Crawford
Leo was Conrad’s doctor while he was admitted into the mental hospital. In comparison with Berger, Leo was far from being the compassionate doctor and Conrad noticed that the strategies proposed by Leo were not as useful as the ones proposed by Berger.
Stillman
Stillman is another boy from Conrad’s swimming team. In comparison with Joe, Stillman is less interested in making Conrad feel comfortable and more interested in making him uncomfortable. The two throw punches at one another towards the end of the novel and there is no information about whether they made up or not.
Coach Salan
Coach Salan was the one who took care of the swimming team Conrad was a member of. When Conrad decided he wanted to quit, Salan felt frustrated mainly because he made some exceptions for Conrad to be able to join the team and work around his doctor’s schedule. Salan made it clear that he will not take Conrad back if he decides to quit the swimming team.
