The Shadows: A Novel

As the novel’s protagonist, Paul Adams is defined by avoidance. For 25 years, he has actively suppressed the traumatic events of his youth, constructing a life far from his hometown of Gritten. His character arc is a forced confrontation with this suppressed history, embodying the theme of The Inescapable Haunting of Past Traumas. Paul’s return, prompted by his mother’s deteriorating health, acts as the catalyst that unravels the past he has so carefully boxed away. He is a dynamic and round character whose journey is primarily internal, focusing on his struggle to reconcile his guilt and memories with the unfolding mystery in the present. His profession as an English teacher who no longer writes suggests a man whose creative and emotional life has been stunted by these unresolved events. His return strips away his adult identity, plunging him back into the adolescent world of fear and uncertainty he once fled.

Paul’s defining trait is a profound sense of guilt, which manifests as a passive and reactive approach to the escalating events. He feels a deep, unspoken responsibility for the murder of his girlfriend, Jenny Chambers, believing his warning to James Dawson inadvertently set her up as the victim.