Escapism

The escapism demonstrated by the characters within the novel shows the boundaries of what the human spirit may withstand. Although they must all contend with varying levels of comfort and distress in post-war Berlin, they must maintain a facade of normalcy to the larger society, contributing all the more to individual delusions of escape and return to another time period or country.

Initially, Alex is incredibly eager to return to Germany so that he may glean information useful enough to the Americans so that they will allow him to return to the country and raise his son in safety. Despite this, he can only think about seeing Irene again when it is revealed to him that she is still alive and intimately connected with Markovsky, a Russian official. Since his childhood, Irene and the sexually explorative summer they shared has served as a tether to Germany...