London

London is the primary setting of the novel. Ten months following her mother's death, the narrator travels to this city in England. She says that she has simply made the trip in order "to decide what [she] thought about [her] life" (2). However, the longer she is there, the more apparent it becomes that the narrator is attempting to avoid her grief. On the day following her arrival, she leaves the hotel, determined not to return until the evening. Throughout the day, she visits Tate Modern and Tate Britain, rides the London Eye, takes a Thames Clipper, walks the Thames, and sees a play at the Bridge Theatre. Throughout her day, she encounters frequent reminders of her mother, which force her to confront her sorrow.

Clerkenwell Hotel

When the narrator travels to London, she books a hotel in Clerkenwell. The neighborhood is located just outside of the city. She...