Noah Calhoun
Noah Calhoun is a spiritual, hardworking poet whose connection to nature, language, and the simpler things in life have carried him through years of loneliness as he pines for his lost love, Allie Nelson…
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Allie Nelson
Allie Nelson, the secondary protagonist and narrator of the novel, is a sensitive and romantic young woman who finds herself at a crossroads between passion and logic as she questions her choices and revisits her…
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Lon Hammond, Jr.
Lon Hammond, Jr. is Allie’s fiancé; he’s an intelligent and hardworking lawyer who comes from a wealthy, powerful family who made their money in the cotton industry long ago. Allie describes Lon as caring…
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Anne Nelson
Anne Nelson is Allie’s strait-laced mother. Anne disapproves of Allie and Noah’s summer fling in 1932, believing that Noah is “too poor” to be a suitable match for her daughter. As a result of…
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Gus
Gus is an elderly black man who lives down the road from Noah. The two are friends as well as neighbors—the two men spend several nights a week together playing music, drinking, and talking…
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Morris Goldman
Morris is the kind and funny Jewish owner of a scrap yard in New Jersey. Noah goes to work for Morris after leaving New Bern to find work during the Great Depression and soon becomes…
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Janice
Janice is a nurse at the nursing home where Noah and Allie live in their old age. Though normally a rule-follower, Janice has a soft spot for Noah, and she sometimes allows him to visit…
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Minor Characters
Fin
Fin is one of Noah’s best childhood friends from New Bern. A sweet and fun-loving boy who befriends Allie during her summer in New Bern, Fin later dies in 1943 while fighting in World War II.
Sarah
Sarah is one of Noah’s childhood friends from New Bern.
Dr. Barnwell
Dr. Barnwell is the doctor who first diagnoses the elderly Allie with Alzheimer’s disease. A kind and empathetic man, Barnwell takes care of both Allie and Noah in the nursing home where they live.
Martha Shaw
Martha Shaw is a war widow and Noah’s neighbor in New Bern. Noah regularly helps Martha, a single mother of three, with home repairs and small favors. In return, Martha often brings over homemade food and baked goods.
Clem
Clem is Noah’s excitable three-legged dog.
