Chochinchina

Chochinchina is the political entity comprising the geographical area wherein most of the novel's action takes place; the author refers to it alternately as French Indochina. The area was a French colony from c. 1859 until mid-1941 whereupon it was occupied by Japanese forces until liberated in 1945. Following liberation, it went through a period of political turmoil until being established as Vietnam within the French Union. Its modern political history also is fairly complex. The area is the primary setting for most of the novel and the colonial French social milieu obtaining is critical for the successful development of the narrative.

The Ferry

The initial meeting between the narrator and the love takes place aboard a ferry crossing a branch of the Mekong River. The ferry is large enough that at least one bus and one limousine can drive on to it for transit. The crossing takes an...