New York City

New York City is the main setting in the novel, with the Breakstone family only leaving the city for the occasional vacation. New York is significant because of the vast income inequality of the city and the consequent social divide between wealthy people like Mark and Karen and people like Bobby who carry out the work that allows their lavish lifestyles to continue.

The Breakstones' Apartment Building, Park Avenue, New York

The Breakstones’ apartment building is on the elite Park Avenue in New York City, an address that Mark and Karen moved to after Karen discovered she was pregnant with Heather. The apartment is symbolic of the way Mark’s wealth divides him and his family from the rest of the society, with the three of them living physically above the lower orders on a high floor of a tall building. The height of their apartment...