Chapter 26: Another Round – Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

After Viktor’s rejection, Maura takes Kostya on a tour of her hidden Manhattan: a tiki bar, a secret arcade called High Voltage, and Tompkins Square Park. At the arcade, she reveals a special Japanese cabinet with a “Hungry Ghost Maze” – a secret level where a ghostly Ms. Pac-Man must find a portal back to reality, while a second player keeps the original Pac-Man alive. The game’s theme of feeding the dead resonates with Kostya’s abilities. Later, in the park, Maura confesses that her sister Everleigh died by suicide during her senior year of art school, and that she works as a psychic partly to keep Everleigh’s spirit alive. Kostya admits he lied: his supper club was a ghost kitchen, and he can truly summon the dead through food. He offers to help Maura contact Everleigh. Maura hesitates, but says she has changed her mind about his powers. Back at his apartment, Kostya shows her a photo of his late best friend Frankie. Alone afterward, he reads Frankie’s note and realizes how to scale his ghost restaurant: a permanent menu of pre-prepared ghost flavors plus limited VIP “Chef’s Tastings” for personal reconnections. He calls Viktor, who is already talking to other chefs, and convinces him by describing the exclusive experience of one last meal with a loved one.

Key Events

Maura takes Kostya to Fuego’s Shrunken Head, a tiki bar above a laundromat.
She leads him to High Voltage, an arcade hidden behind a locked door in a hardware store.
Maura dominates every game, then shows Kostya a Japanese Ms. Pac-Man cabinet with a “Hungry Ghost Maze” secret level.
She explains that the maze requires Pac-Man to stay alive while Ms. Pac-Man (now a blue ghost) finds a “Happy Meal” portal – a metaphor for feeding the dead.
They walk to Tompkins Square Park, where Maura reveals her sister Everleigh died by suicide during her senior year of art school.
Maura admits she dropped out after Everleigh’s death and became a psychic to keep her sister’s spirit alive.
Kostya confesses he lied about his supper club – it was a ghost kitchen where he cooks the aftertastes of the dead.
He offers to help Maura see Everleigh again.
Maura says she has changed her mind about his ghost work, calling him “selfless.”
At Kostya’s apartment, Maura learns about Frankie’s death, and Kostya kisses her.
Alone, Kostya studies Frankie’s menu note and conceives a new restaurant model: regular ghost dishes plus limited VIP “Chef’s Tastings.”
He calls Viktor at 1 a.m., describes the exclusive experience, and Viktor seems persuaded.

Character Development

Kostya moves from secret-keeping to full honesty, admitting his ghost kitchen and offering to help Maura contact Everleigh. His decision to call Viktor shows new confidence and a willingness to take risks for his vision. He also begins to accept his own need to “live a little more,” as Maura suggests.

Maura reveals her most vulnerable secret: her sister’s suicide and the instability of her childhood, including her father’s bipolar disorder. She shows Kostya her hidden world – arcades, secret bars – and her exceptional gaming skills, which reflect her search for order in a chaotic life. Her attitude toward ghosts shifts from outright dismissal to cautious openness, driven by love for Everleigh.

Viktor (off-page) is initially resistant but is swayed by Kostya’s pitch about exclusive ghost experiences and the emotional draw of a last meal with the dead.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Hungry Ghost Maze: This game within the chapter serves as a central symbol for Kostya’s abilities – feeding ghosts to let them cross over, and the interdependent life of the living and the dead.
Secret places and hidden knowledge: Maura’s tour of hidden Manhattan (the tiki bar, the arcade, the park) parallels the hidden realm of ghosts Kostya accesses.
Grief as leftovers: Maura’s extended metaphor about grief being like a four-course meal that only one bite was eaten, leaving rotting food or bingeing, perfectly captures the inability to let go.
Second chances: The chapter’s title “Another Round” echoes throughout: Kostya gets a second chance with Viktor, Maura reconsiders ghosts, and the game of Ms. Pac-Man offers unlimited continues.
Order vs. chaos: Maura’s love of games stems from their “perfect logic” and rules, contrasting with the messiness of real life and sudden loss.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 26 is a pivotal turning point in the novel. Kostya finally abandons his lies and reveals the full truth about his ghost kitchen to Maura, deepening their relationship. Her reciprocal trust – telling him about Everleigh’s suicide – forges a powerful emotional bond. The arcade metaphor crystallizes the book’s core idea: feeding the dead is a form of love, not exploitation. Kostya’s business epiphany, drawn from Frankie’s note, resolves the plot obstacle of scaling the restaurant. His successful late-night call to Viktor, sealed by the aftertaste of pickled herring (Viktor’s memory), demonstrates that the ghost concept can be a commercial and emotional success. This chapter also humanizes Maura, reframing her psychic work as a tribute to her sister rather than a gimmick.

Study Questions and Answers

How does the “Hungry Ghost Maze” game parallel Kostya’s abilities and his relationship with the dead?
The maze requires a living player (Pac-Man) to survive while the ghost (Ms. Pac-Man) searches for a portal back to reality. This mirrors Kostya’s work: he channels the aftertaste of a dead person through food, which allows the living to experience a temporary reunion. The game’s theme of “feeding the dead to help them cross” is exactly what Kostya does when he cooks their aftertaste dishes.
What does Maura mean when she compares grief to leftovers? What does Kostya’s reply add?
Maura says grief is like a four-course meal of love, but the dead person only got one bite, leaving the living stuck with rotting leftovers they either binge on or let spoil. Kostya responds, “Or maybe you could invite someone else to dinner. Someone hungry.” He reframes grief not as solitary suffering but as an opportunity to share memories and comfort with another person – in this case, himself, as someone who “hungers” for connection with the dead.
Why does Kostya keep his ghost kitchen a secret from Maura for so long, and what finally changes his mind?
He feared she would reject him because of her earlier dismissal of his “ghost stuff” at the party. He changes his mind after she opens up about Everleigh, showing vulnerability and a new openness to the possibility of contacting her sister. Maura’s statement that “the benefits might be worth the risk” reassures him, and her description of his work as “selfless” gives him the courage to confess.