Oxford

The charming, mid-sized city of Oxford is where Ellis lives for his entire life, and is where Michael lives for the majority of his life. Oxford contains a number of emotionally significant landmarks, including Mabel's welcoming store, the Long Bridges swimming area next to a river, and the locations of both Ellis and Annie's wedding, and also Annie's grave site. However, Oxford is also associated with industrial lifelessness, as demonstrated by Dora's emotional need to hang the sunflower painting. Most of the novel's plot consists of characters needing to leave Oxford in order to gain emotional clarity about their lives.

Long Bridges

The Long Bridges are a swimming area within Oxford that is emotionally significant to Ellis, and especially to Michael. Ellis and Michael frequently play at the Long Bridges, first as children, alongside Dora, and then as teenagers, as they slowly pursue their own romance. Michael proceeds...