Bulgaria

The Eastern European country of Bulgaria is the novel's broad-strokes setting. Virtually all of the action in the present-day sections of the narrative takes place there.

Sofia

Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, its largest city and its cultural center. It is the setting for much of the novel's action, and the primary developments in the relationship between the narrator and Mitko.

Mladost

This district of Sofia is where the narrator lives and works, and where he conducts most of his relationship with Mitko. The narrator describes it as one of the rougher parts of the city, portraying it as crowded, dirty, and lower class.

Gotse Delchev

This is the district of Sofia to which the narrator has to travel to confirm his diagnosis of, and get treatment for, syphilis. He describes it as being cleaner, more welcoming, and somewhat higher class than Mladost. The symbolic value of...