Australia, 1892

In "The Bones," the camel tells his story in the wake of the 1859 Hospital Creek Massacre. This massacre occurred when the Aborigines demanded that the settlers release one of their women. The settlers refused, and were subsequently killed by the Aborigine. In retaliation, the settlers killed a large number of Aborigine men, women, and children. The camel implies that Master Mitchell and his father were responsible for these shootings (or other, comparable murders of Aborigine people), and are therefore haunted by the ghosts of the murder victims.

France, 1915

Kiki's story takes place in a French trench during WWI. Kiki laments that the French countryside has been transformed from a "pastoral paradise" to a place of warfare and destruction (19). This transformation in geography--from idyllic to ruined--parallels Kiki's relationship with Colette. In the story's beginnings, Kiki believes she and Colette are inseparable, saying that Colette will surely find her with...