What is the setting in the novel, Taipei?

The novel is set in a more or less contemporary world, with very little fictionalized. Due to the style and approach of the author, different towns, cities, and even countries bare very little distinction. Paul spends most of the time he's narrating at events like parties where events are naturally confusing, or at book readings where he is terrified of answering questions. In either case, the narrator's perception of the world is heavily affected by the drugs that he takes. The narrator's world, then, is a place where time barely exists, emotions are recognized but not processed, and events pass by in a haze. Paul's acquaintances--for it is difficult to say for sure if Paul actually has any genuine friends--are all drug users, and some appear to be more heavily into drugs than he is. Paul's world is filled with well-educated people like authors and journalists and poets, all of whom he manages to alienate himself from due to his social awkwardness and his drug use. What connections he does form with people quickly deteriorate because Paul is unwilling or incapable of remaining close to anyone for a significant period of time. Paul is also constantly surrounded by recording and communication devices. Computers, smart phones, and social media are never very far away from him, and he uses them constantly in order to communicate with people who are far away. In some ways, he appears to have more meaningful conversations with others when he does this.