Loss and Grief

The novel uses Ivan and Peter Koubek’s father’s death in order to instigate its explorations of loss and grief. Although Peter and Ivan had different relationships with their father, his passing submerges both of the brothers in a prolonged bout of sorrow. Throughout the novel, the brothers deal with their loss and grief in contrasting ways. However, they both actively try to hide from their sorrow and end up complicating their other interpersonal relationships as a result. Their romantic entanglements with Margaret, Naomi, and Sylvia, as well as their fraternal conflicts, are all symptoms of their inability to cope with losing their father. Indeed, his passing disrupts the brothers' already tenuous family structure and forces them to confront who they have been to each other and what they need from one another in the future.

Ivan and Peter’s unwillingness to accept...