Northwest London

London is the novel's primary setting and where all of the 1980's-focused sections occur. The novel is deeply rooted in this setting and is littered with references to the cultural atmosphere at the time of the narrator's childhood and adolescence. The narrator and Tracey share a neighborhood in Northwest London that hovers on the brink of poverty.

For the narrator, Northwest London represents her upbringing and a place which she eventually becomes isolated from. As an adult, she focuses her work in New York and the wealthier parts of London -- this shift physically symbolizes the narrator's rise from the poverty of her youth. Her mother also echoes this upwards trend; at the beginning of the novel, her characters is intertwined with the setting as she devotes much of her energy to community planning and energizing, yet she becomes a member of Parliament and largely neglects her...