What is the importance of Spokane, Washington in the short story collection, We Live in Water?

The city of Spokane, Washington is the explicit setting of “Statistical Abstract...” and “The Wolf and the Wild.” Spokane is a relatively small city, where social issues such as poverty are fairly relevant. Jess Walter has lived in Spokane his whole life. Thus, although many of the stories in this collection have no explicit setting, their settings appear to be similar to Spokane.