Nepal/Kathmandu

Most of the stories in the collection take place in Nepal in the area of Kathmandu, the nation's capital. It is unclear exactly when most of the stories take place, however Upadhyay presents the nation as a place of political upheaval where ordinary citizens regularly face oppression by the government. This is true of "Fast Forward," "Mad Country," and "Dreaming of Ghana" in particular. In the latter story, Aakash mentions the "the turmoil, the daily savagery, the constant bickering, the fear, the casual violence, the ugly faces on the evening news" (148). Most likely, these stories take place during Nepal's decade long civil war, from 1996-2006.

Virtually all of the stories allude to Nepal's many Hindu temples. In "An Affair Before the Earthquake," the two lovers visit temples around Kathmandu's Durbar Square, including the Maju Deval temple and the Kasthamandap temple, both of which were destroyed in the...