Consider Noah Braverman, One of My Original Characters
Who is Noah Braverman?
Noah Braverman is a linchpin character in Mettle. But he was downgraded from leading man status in favor of Craig Firenze.
Where Did Noah Braverman Come From?
Noah (like Josie James in the Time Addicts trilogy) actually lives in my house. Because Mettle takes place in my neighborhood, what better place but the one I know the best?
The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Noah Braverman
Noah has the best defined family in all of Mettle. Apart from Craig and Jeannie, and Nell with Gran, he is the only person who the reader ever sees with a family member.
Description
The only person I have ever seen for Noah is the actor David Schwimmer. In part, it’s the air of intelligence. Noah is no dope, even though he’s not a doctor like Elise Jeffries or Mei-Lin Quan, and he’s not a PhD like his mother, Eleanor.
It is also because I try to pair characters with actors who are similar in terms of background. I wanted only a Jewish actor to play this Jewish character.
And, it’s also because of Schwimmer’s hangdog look, which he should probably just patent already.
Purpose/Theme/Motivation
Noah doesn’t have the last name of Braverman by accident, of course. But his bravery is not based on anything like battle skills or the like.
Rather, it is based on trust. Without knowing much about most of the other characters, Noah takes in Craig and gets to know and truly love and appreciate people he would never normally run into, like Nell Murphy, Minka Lopez, and Dez Hunter.
In fact, he is one of the reasons why the story seems to not quite get started until chapter 7 or so. I needed for Noah to know Craig at least a little bit, for why would he take in a stranger to live with him, particularly while people are going nuts?
Quotes {the Power Outage is Happening; He is Taking Craig to Brighton}
Noah did a fast three-point turn, getting the car onto Cambridge Street and abandoning Storrow Drive altogether. He gunned the engine, running red lights and weaving in and out of traffic. “Sorry for the white-knuckle ride.”
“That’s fine. You’re handy with the jalopy.”
“I learned how to drive in this car. Hang on.”
Noah turned in front of St. Botolph’s where some flickering lights were still on. But other lights were going out all over the rest of the area. He gunned it down Adams, passing a drug store and a taco place before the car sputtered to a halt and died across the street from the organic market.
Noah and Craig got out. “This way,” Noah said, “Go here and then straight for a while. It’s a bit downhill, then left on Hancock, number three oh one if you can see anything. If you can’t, the house has smooth pillars in front.”
The two men strode quickly, Craig holding the carryon and Noah holding the briefcase. One by one, lights in the houses started going out. Striding turned into jogging and then full-blown running as they turned onto Hancock and all the lights went out and even ambient car noises went silent.
Relationships
Much like any other character, Noah has interactions with the main cast, but he also has pointed and more important ones with a select few.
Noah and Elise
Best pals for years, he has a bit of thing for her but she doesn’t really reciprocate. It’s not that she doesn’t care. It’s more that she just plain does not feel a spark with him.
But they can clown around and kid each other, and they do a lot of that. Elise is also pretty much the only person who Noah knows by name in his neighborhood, apart from the people he lives with.
And speaking of them…
Noah and Olga
Olga Nicolaev is the caregiver for Noah’s mother, and she has a semi-thankless job as Eleanor slips deeper and deeper into Alzheimer’s.
Noah involves Olga in care decisions about Eleanor and trusts (there’s that word again) her wise counsel. And this is despite the fact that Olga has major issues with English.
Yet when the story starts, and throughout it, she refers to him as Mr. Braverman whereas he calls her by her first name. Now, that is pretty much something you would expect in a relationship between and employer and employee, but still!
Considering the intimacy of their lives together (nothing romantic), you would think he would insist on her calling him Noah.
But he never gets a chance to.
Noah and Eleanor
An exceptionally devoted son, Noah has never actually left home. Rather, when his father died and his mother became ill, the best response was to simply stay.
However, when the story starts, he is getting a little tired of Eleanor continually asking about his late father. She doesn’t know any better, of course. And he does have a great deal of patience. But his reservoirs of it are not without limit.
Conflict and Turning Point
Noah’s turning points are virtually the same as those for the other characters in the story. When it seems as if the entire world has gone mad, he has but one purpose—to get home. There is nothing else he can think about.
And this should follow for a character who is, in part, defined by family and home.
Continuity/Easter Eggs
Noah isn’t really the one with the Easter egg; it’s his mother, whose maiden name is Shapiro.
Future Plans for Noah Braverman
I do not have any future plans for him, but he will show up in the prequel, as will the rest of the cast.
Noah Braverman: Takeaways
Noah Braverman is a somewhat different kind of hero, sort of a hero as homebody, if you will. While Craig turned out to be the lead, it’s Noah who holds the story together.
Mettle would fall apart without him.
Noah Braverman — the character who brings everyone together.
Want More of Noah Braverman and the Rest of Mettle?
If Mettle resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how changes in the periodic table nearly kill us all.