Paris, France

Paris, France is the setting of Odile's narration that takes place during World War II. At the beginning of the story, Odile describes it as a vibrant place split between the factory district and the affluent half of the city. Over time, however, the city begins to degrade during the German occupation. Numerous libraries are raided as knowledge is destroyed. The opulent districts are abandoned by the elite while the middle class and poor are left to starve and suffer. It also becomes more dangerous for outsiders as the German soldiers arrest those they call foreign aliens and the French citizens begin to turn on their own neighbors. All of this is meant to show the reader the exact horrors of war from a civilian perspective and explain why people such as Odile never knew about the atrocities taking place outside of her home. However, Paris is...