Double R Apartments

The Double R Apartments is a broken-down motor court from the 1950s, located on the highway between the Las Vegas airport and the Strip. It is a transient hotel, a place where guys who look like illegal immigrants stand around the courtyard by the empty swimming pool and argue over motorcycle parts. Hadley, a girl from Theo's school, says the name stands for "Rats and Roaches."

Kotku's Residence and Boris's Relationship

Kotku lives at the Double R with her mother. Boris spends more and more nights there after he becomes involved with Kotku, and he talks about her constantly. He mentions that Kotku really wants an electronic keyboard, and also a Siamese kitten or a ferret, but she is not allowed to have pets at the Double R. The apartment is a setting for the couple's volatile relationship, which quickly takes on a punchy, irritable quality, with bickering over small sums of money and jealousy over other people.

A Place of Desperation

The Double R represents the most desperate and transient side of Las Vegas life. It is a place where Kotku, who has a history of living on the street and begging for change, ends up. The setting underscores the poverty and instability that contrasts sharply with the glitz of the Strip. It is a world of broken-down motor courts, illegal immigrants, and people struggling to survive, a far cry from the wealthy neighborhoods of New York or even the suburban sprawl of Canyon Shadows where Theo lives with his father.