Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of stalking, mental health conditions, substance misuse, sexual assault, arson, and imprisonment, as well as references to incest.

David Axelrod is the narrator and protagonist of Endless Love. The story begins when David is 17 and continues until he is nearly 28. Dark-haired, dark-eyed, and of Jewish descent, David is shaped by his parents’ communist leanings, which lead them to renounce all religions, including their own. David’s first-person past tense point of view indicates that he is writing the narrative in hindsight when he has a clear emotional distance from the events he describes. This proves that despite the tumultuousness of his years with Jade, he recovers and lives a balanced life.

Seventeen-year-old David experiences a heightened state of consciousness that seems to drive his impulsiveness, dissociative tendencies, obsessive behaviors, and delusions. He refers to his idealized love for Jade as “The Infinite,” and it overwhelms him to the point that it becomes the core of his identity. This obsession permeates every aspect of David’s life, coloring his interactions, perceptions, and decisions throughout the novel.

David’s identity blurs and molds around Jade, leaving him without a sense of self outside of his feelings for her.