Interpersonal Connection

Tensions between isolation and interpersonal connection persist throughout the novel, as the story explores both the challenges and inherent values in attempting to form a meaningful rapport with another person. Arguably, the central relationship in the novel is that of Andrei and Seva. Andrei arrives in Moscow to temporarily help take care of Seva, and he quickly encounters multiple major challenges. For example, Seva’s dementia makes it difficult to retain basic information, such as Andrei’s identity: “I am not qualified to care for an eighty-nine-year-old woman who can’t remember who I am” (18). However, in spite of these difficulties, they form a meaningful rapport over the course of a year, and Andrei becomes a welcome fixture in Seva’s life. The become anchors and mutual sources of support for each other. Eventually, Andrei must return to America, but it is clear that the...