Manhattan

The narrator lives in Manhattan. New York City is thus the primary backdrop for all of the events in the novel. She and her husband Tomas have lived here for many years and find themselves "in the unexpected position of being what is referred to as comfortable—no small feat, in a city like New York" (22, Kitamura's italics). Life in the city is especially important to the narrator because she is an actor. She works on film sets and in theatrical productions. Although she is familiar with this urban metropolis, the narrator primarily moves between her apartment, her local café, and the playhouse where she is working.

West Village

The West Village is the Manhattan neighborhood where the narrator lives with her husband Tomas. The couple bought the apartment when they were "newer to the city" (22). Since their arrival, the neighborhood as been transformed by "the churn of...