Nagasaki

Nagasaki is a city in Japan. One of the most significant events in the city’s history was in 1945, when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city, killing many people and destroying much of the city’s infrastructure. Most of the novel takes place in Nagasaki about a decade after that bombing. The city is mostly rebuilt by that time, but people still bear deep emotional scars from the war. Also, most people in Nagasaki at that time. have friends and family who were killed by the bomb. Etsuko lives in Nagasaki, and Sachiko and Mariko move in to a cottage near Etsuko’s home. Etsuko befriends them while they are in Nagasaki.

England

Part of the novel takes place in England. The time period of this storyline is unstated, but it appears to be approximately contemporary with the publication of the novel, which was...