Setting

The excerpt from the novel How to get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid takes place in a city in Asia. The name of the country and the city is not mentioned in the story. This may hint that the events could happen in any Asian city. 

The country where the action takes place appears to be a poor, developing country. The narrator is a teenager, but he works late evening to night (6 pm to 1 am) to add to his family’s income. The narrator’s family is not rich enough to afford good, filling meals for a teenager who needs protein to help his growth. 

The environment where the events take place also appears to be unsafe and disreputable. The DVD store owner makes a lot of money from the illegal sale of pirated DVDs. The pretty girl’s father...