I think Dima has had a harder life. Faced more loss.

While Ian lost his father to a heart attack while still a teenager, Dima lost his mother to cancer at 12, during a period of his life when his father had disappeared on deployment to Afghanistan for over a year, an eternity for a small boy. And while Borin returned for the funeral and a week or two of leave, he went right back on deployment after, not returning for another year. During that time, Dima grew attached to his aunt, who also left. He may write off his melancholia to the vagaries of Russian literature and culture, but I think he is not, in this instance, a reliable narrator.

But what do I know? He doesn’t always share all his deepest thoughts with me.