Marseille, France

Marseille is Henri’s hometown and where Nancy moves to when they become engaged. The narrator describes, “Marseille is a city offended by the mere suggestion of winter. She was built to be enjoyed at dusk during the height of summer, wineglass in hand, freckles bright from a day in the sun; not hustled through on a cold January night. And yet, there is still an irrefutable charm clinging to her cobblestones and dormant vines. She is an Old World city, boasting good bones and expensive taste. Age has refined her, Henri thinks, and her stately buildings do not crack or crumble” (236). This description of Marseille contrasts starkly with the image of Marseille in ruins once it is bombed. Generally speaking, Marseille represents luxury and whimsicality in the novel.

Chaudes-Aigues, France

Chaudes-Aigues is “a large town in the mountainous Cantal region that sits at the bottom of...