Bloomington, Indiana

All seven of the short stories collected in People from Bloomington are set in the town of Bloomington, Indiana. Bloomington is a college town in the midwestern United States. Although none of the narrators explicitly come into contact with one another, they all reside here, either working or attending the local university.

Throughout each of the stories, the narrators pay close attention to the appearance, atmosphere, and community of their town. They all live on quiet neighborhood streets, where they either rent small apartment units or single rooms located in the homes of elderly women. Because the narrators are most often single and lonely, they devote much of their attention and energy to observing their neighbors and involving themselves in their neighbors' affairs.

Fess Avenue

Fess Avenue is the primary setting for the story "The Old Man with No Name." The narrator moves onto Fess Avenue via...