The Palace

The Palace is the primary setting of the novel. This is where all of the scenes in the narrative present take place. The novel opens with the narrator arriving at the Palace, having come in search of his friend Juan who he has learned keeps a room at this establishment (7). When the narrator first encounters the Palace, he stands before the structure and attempts to make sense of it. Because of its appearance, he guesses that it must "have been a hotel, or a stately asylum, once upon a time" (12). In the present, however, the narrator guesses the Palace is run by a charity "for those without family" (12). Inside the Palace, the narrator joins Juan in his room. This is where the narrator and Juan remain throughout the novel. Because Juan is dying, he has little mobility. Because the narrator is desperate to be with Juan when...