The Oligarch's Daughter

Survival Against the Odds is one of this novel’s key themes, and Paul is forced to survive more than one complex and dangerous situation. His survival gear serves as a symbol of both his resilience and his evolving relationship with his father.

Paul endures multiple life-threatening situations, and the most striking is the time he spends in the wilderness while attempting to evade capture first by Berzin and then the FBI. Over the course of these treks, Paul purchases and uses some important pieces of survival gear. He initially feels unprepared to survive alone in the wilderness, but as he gathers his thoughts and formulates a plan, he recalls the lessons that his father taught him during their many trips into the woods. His father, a skilled outdoorsman who eventually withdrew from society to live in the wilderness, taught Paul a variety of skills: how to build camouflaged shelters, start fires, identify safe water sources, interpret tracks, and navigate using the stars or a compass. While Paul once dismissed this knowledge, it becomes crucial to his survival.

When he has the opportunity, Paul purchases a mylar blanket, fire-starting equipment, water purification tablets, as well as other items that are necessary for survival in the wilderness.