New York City

The novel takes place in New York City's Upper West Side, and one of the central conflicts between Nora and Charlie is his desire to move elsewhere and her fierce loyalty to New York. Nora moved to the city shortly after graduating college and lived in a "ratty" (209) apartment with Jenny (who introduced her to Charlie while she was still getting over her college boyfriend). Nora worked at several museums in the city before becoming the PR manager of Bebe's jewelry museum. Nora frequently reminisces about the city as it was in her youth, "nastier, scarier, [and] dirtier" (8), as the city has now become "safer, cleaner, and then impossible for anyone who didn't have a lot of money" (72). Nora has a particular disdain for anything she views as inauthentic, so she dislikes the fact that the city is losing its edge. She notes that many people...