London

London, England is the setting of the first story in the collection, “White Dancing Elephants,” which is also the collection’s title story. In the story, the unnamed protagonist wanders around London and grapples with grief over her recent miscarriage. The story occasionally alludes to specific places in the city, although the narrator’s grief is more relevant to the narrative than the specific setting.

Boston

Boston—the capital and most populous city of Massachusetts—is the setting for multiple stories in the collection: “A Shaker Chair,” “Newberry,” and “Asha in Allston.” In “A Shaker Chair,” Sylvia lives and works in the greater Boston area. She lives relatively close to her parents, who reside in a suburb outside of Boston. In addition to being a clinical psychologist, Sylvia is also a professor of psychology at Harvard University, which is located in the greater Boston area. In “Newberry,” Vinita...