So, Rudi's sons in the novel names begin with "A" and "H"...are we supposed to assume that is in honor of his sister (Anna) and deceased wife (Helena)? Or am I looking too far into things?
shareYou might be on to something. In the novel, when Rudy's mother breaks the news to her husband that Anna is dead, she attempts to console him by telling him that Rudy or Karl will name a child for her.
shareThat's amazing; I've read the novel several times and never picked up on this.
shareOops. My mistake. Berta actually says it to Inga. Page 131, first full paragraph:
"We will be together again," she would say. "I know it. We will remember Anna. When Karl and Rudi have children, they will name a child for her. Inga, do you remember what a tease she was? How she used to play with Rudi? The games they invented?"
Interesting theory, but I suspect it was a coincidence. Rudi's sons were born in Israeil and Ari and Hanan are popular Israeli names.
Many European-born Israelis adopted Hebrew versions of their names when the nation of Israel was founded. David Ben Gurion, Golda Meir, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak--all of them changed their names.