America

The United States of America is the broad strokes setting for all the stories in the collection. While there are relatively few specific references to either the reality or the concept of America in the stories, there is often an implied sense that various aspects of American culture are negatively experienced by the characters as functions of a fundamental racism in how the country conceives of itself, and how it functions.

Washington State

This state in the north-west corner of the United States is the setting for much of the action in in many of the stories in the collection. While the specific geo-physical and/or natural qualities of this setting are not developed in particular or significant detail throughout the collection, there is a sense in the references that do appear that its unspoiled nature and relative freedom from urbanization are, to some degree, defining qualities in...