Who is Renee? What does Renee believe a concierge should be like? Where does she get this idea? To what length does Renee go to to create this façade? Why does Renee not want her tenants to know how intelligent she is? Why should a concierge not study philosophy? Why is it unusual for a concierge to be familiar with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina?

Who is Paloma? Why does she want to commit suicide? How does she plan to do it? Why does she want to burn down her family's apartment first? Why does she want to die on her thirteenth birthday? Why is Paloma fascinated with Japanese culture? How has this influenced her to commit suicide?

Who is Manuela? How have she and Renee become friends? What is this friendship like? Why does Manuela continuously think of going home to Portugal? What is...