When he writes about Weequahic High School, the Chancellor Playground, Chancellor Avenue, Leslie Street, the Weequahic Diner, the Tavern Restaurant, and the parking lot in back of Millman's hot dog stand on Meeker Avenue, and Weequahic Park, you know he's been there, done that, and through many of his Newark-based characters, he is portraying his own early life and experiences, however highly fictionalized.

Newark readers will also take heart in seeing mentions of South Side High School, Clinton Avenue, Lehigh Avenue, the Solondz lumberyard and Laurel Garden, or the goings on of attendees at the Empire Burlesque theatre.

Leslie Street has special meaning for Roth. It was the home address listed for Philip in his High School Yearbook and the two-family frame house where he lived with his mother, father, and brother.