Rouenna
Rouenna is Misha's girlfriend, an African-American college student living in the Bronx. She symbolizes everything Misha hopes to find in America: community, meaning, love, and fulfillment. Throughout the novel, despite rumors of her infidelities (paralleling the unfortunate circumstances of life Misha finds himself in), Misha hopes against hope to fly to New York and finally reunite with her, which he believes will make his life complete.
Absurdistan
The fictional city of Absurdistan is itself a symbol. Initially living in St. Petersburg, Misha discovers that the only way for him to travel to the United States is to acquire a fake passport from the city of Absurdistan. This city is a symbol, unsurprisingly, for the absurd qualities of life as well as its tendency to create unfortunate circumstances beyond one's control. When he goes there, he almost succeeds before being caught up in a civil war/scheme to take the city over, and the fallout from this event forces Misha to stay in Russia anyway.
Dr. Levine
Dr. Levine is Misha's therapist, a man living in New York whom Misha calls for emotional and psychological support. He is a symbol for Misha's grasp on reality and his emotional well-being. Misha follows his advice as well as he can in an attempt to keep his dreams alive, but when he fails the tasks Dr. Levine assigns him, he feels miserable about himself. Levine is thus the crucible that reveals Misha's true character.
Misha's Love of Food
Misha really, really loves food. The scene where he devours the kabobs is probably one of the most sensually charged, passionate scenes in all of literature. This strong love is both a motif, recurring many times throughout the novel, and a symbol, representing his large capacity for strong emotion as well as a tangible manifestation of his unhealthy lifestyle.
The Murder of Misha's Father
The murder of Misha's father, occurring in the first chapter of the novel, is an unfortunate symbol of the inevitable circumstances that make life unreasonably difficult for no apparent reason. With Misha's father dead, his dreams of making it back to New York suddenly become highly unlikely, setting off the train of unfortunate events that make up the majority of this novel.
