Setting

Time setting

Brian McCabe’s short story “A Good Night’s Sleep” was first published in 1995, and the setting is probably meant to be read as contemporary to the time of publishing. This is suggested by the description of a modern city, with busy streets filled with cars and taxis, late-night bars, universities, restaurants, etc. The description corresponds with Edinburgh as a rapidly developing city during the 1990s. Moreover, the fact that George’s neighbours still use records to listen to music (p. 147, l. 20) points to the story being set in the late 20th century.

The action of the story takes place in a single night, over the span of a few hours. The story begins at night when George is trying to fall asleep but hears a bumping against his door. He ignores it for several minutes, and when he gets up to check the time, the clock shows “01.45” (p. 148, l. 33). However, the real time is 01:35, since George sets his clock ten minutes fast (p. 148, l. 30). After that, the action carries on later into the night.

Physical setting

The story is set in Edinburgh (p. 146, l. 9), which is the capital city of S...