Although the setting of the novel is in 1974, it still can be considered as a 9/11 novel. The first chapter depicts a tight-rope walker risking his life walking beyond the city between the Twin towers in 1974 and rest of the stories spin around this main theme. Then, in the last chapter, the now-grown Jaslyn, returns to New York City in 2006 (post 9/11). When she opens a window, she encounters ash in the air. It can be inferred that the ash is a reference to the ash that covered lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center buildings
