The United States

The U.S., with its long social and political history of complicated relationships with both Jews and Israel, is the broad-strokes, overall setting for the narrative. Welcoming of Jewish immigrants and refugees since virtually the beginning of modern immigration, the U.S. (as the narrative itself suggests) has arguably become almost as much of a homeland for Jews as Israel. This contention can be seen as being supported, in the novel, by the fact that protagonist Jacob chooses to prioritize the life he has in his true homeland of the U.S. and not the life he has in his theoretical homeland of Israel.

Washington, D.C.

Most of the novel's action takes place in the capital city of the U.S., Washington D.C. This circumstance - that is: Jacob's establishment of his life in a city that is the center of power in the...