Hotels

Hotels are a setting that recur in a couple of the short stories, most notably "New Mexico" and "The Spider." In the former, FBI agent Calvin hangs around a hotel trying to intercept one of Elijah Muhammad's wives in order to get information out of her. However, the role he has to play undercover in the hotel is as a busboy, which speaks to how Black people are viewed in this story, which takes place sometime in the 1970s. Meanwhile, in "The Spider," a new offshoot from the Nation of Islam after Elijah Muhammad's death holds a meeting in a hotel in order to give themselves an air of legitimacy. However, the meeting itself rankles some of the members, leading a few of them to leave.

Egypt

Egypt is a setting in "Woman in Niqab" that provides a significant contrast to the American setting that takes up most...