What is the theme in The Man Without a Face by Isabelle Holland?

Abandonment is a central theme in the book. Charles Norstadt is only fourteen years old but has already endured a life-time of abandonment. Eric, Charles' father, was his mother's second husband. His mother subsequently divorced Eric and went on to marry at least three more times. Not only did Charles suffer through the loss of his own father but the passage of several more father figures in the form of two step-fathers who she eventually divorced. Charles has no contact with his father but has built up an idealized image of him in an attempt to grasp onto some measure of self-esteem and self-worth. However, his mother and his older sister, Gloria, do everything possible to destroy Charles fragile identity by putting down Charles and Eric at every opportunity.