Ezra Blazer's apartment, Upper West Side, Manhattan, early 2000s

This setting is where, in the novel's first section, Alice and Ezra spend much of their time together. They go out in public together occasionally, but Ezra generally prefers to see her in the privacy of his apartment. Although it is not claustrophobic, the apartment constitutes the insular world of their relationship, which does not necessarily need to be kept a secret but is potentially subject to public scrutiny. Toward the end of the section, Alice is overwhelmed by the cumulative hours she has spent there: "I've spent a lot of time here" she tells Ezra, tearfully, in his bedroom (111). "Yes," he responds, "I expect this room will be imprinted on your brain always" (111).

Ezra Blazer's island house, early 2000s

When Ezra has a lot of writing to do he retreats to an island home he has out in the...