The Book of Divination

The Book of Divination that Klara buys from Ilya Hlavacek's magic shop is a symbol of her future career as a magician. She is nine years old when she acquires the book, seemingly on a whim, and she spends the next nine years working closely with Ilya Hlavacek to develop her magic skills, to the extent that he becomes like a father figure to her. The book also symbolizes Klara's ultimate death, as it is her belief in magic and in fate that cause her to commit suicide.

The Bogopolskis

The story Varya tells about her classmate's family the Bogopolskis is representative of the capriciousness of fate. Three of the Bogopolski sons were conscripted to fight in Vietnam, while the fourth son, Varya's friend Eugene, was not. All three sons returned safely from Vietnam, but a year later, Eugene was killed while diving...