Harold Crick

Living… alone in Chicago. Harold lives a very solitary and lonely life in his boring, bland apartment. He eats lunch alone, commutes alone, and eats dinner — you guessed it — alone.

Profession… IRS senior auditor. Harold is a very detail-oriented person and follows his life according to his wristwatch and his schedule. Recently, he’s been assigned to audit a baker named Ana Pascal, who has been avoiding her taxes deliberately.

Interests… playing guitar. Harold believes that he’s going to die after he starts hearing a bizarre voice talking to him in his head. Although he’s never really had any hobbies outside of his work, Harold is beginning to take up the guitar, feeling he has nothing to lose.

Relationship Status… falling for Ana. Although he’s supposed to be auditing her, Harold can help but fall for the tax delinquent. Even though she yelled, “get bent, taxman!” at him when he first showed up, she is starting to come around to Harold. However, there’s a rule against him getting involved with his auditee, and Harold is having trouble breaking the rules he’s always followed.

Challenge… figuring out why the voice inside his head is trying to kill him. As strange as it may seem, Harold begins hearing a voice in his head one day that begins to narrate his life just before it happens. Thinking he’s going mad, Harold seeks the advice of a literature professor, who tells him that he must discover whether the narration is a comedy or a tragedy. When he discovers that his life story is being written by a famous author named Karen Eiffel who is known for killing off her characters at the end, Harold has to find her and convince her not to finish the story.

Personality… lonely, methodical, and introverted. Harold is so obsessed with minute details that he counts brushstrokes when he brushes his teeth, and can do unbelievable math calculations in his head. Harold lives his life strictly and as a result he doesn’t have too many friends or interests outside of his work. Until the voice in his head and Ana show up.