What is the main setting in the novel, The Water-method Man?

The book takes place between 1960 and 1970, around the time that it was written. There are four major settings in it, each one representing a different phase in Bogus's life. Bogus meets Biggie in the Alps, when he is in Europe for his studies. To them, Europe represents adventure and new opportunities, and they behave very recklessly there. Later he returns to Europe, hoping to recapture some of that feeling. Bogus goes to grad school in Iowa, where it is boring and flat, and there are lots of dull students around. He is depressed about having to work at the college football games, selling souvenirs for a team that never wins. Iowa is also the location of grinding poverty for Bogus and Biggie.

In New York, Bogus begins his new life with Tulpen, working at Ralph's studio. New York is a much more pleasant situation than Iowa because finally Bogus has enough money not to worry. In Maine, Couth lives with Biggie and Colm at the huge Pillsbury Estate by the ocean. This provides the same kind of wild beauty they found in the Alps, and Colm loves being around the ocean animals.