Ivan Koubek

Ivan Koubek is one of the main characters of the novel. His mother is Christine and his older brother is Peter. In the narrative present, Ivan is 22 years old. He has recently finished college and is living in a Dublin flat with his friends when his father dies. Ivan has been close with his father ever since he was a child. He and his father had similarly sensitive personalities and connected more easily than Ivan ever did with Christine or Peter. Throughout the novel, therefore, Peter struggles to accept “that [his] dad is gone” (391). He tries to distract himself from his grief with his freelance work and his participation in chess events and competitions. At one event, he meets a 36-year-old woman named Margaret Kearns with whom he quickly falls in love.

Ivan’s relationship with Margaret gives him a different sense of himself, of relationships, and...