A brownstone is a multistory townhome clad in a very dark sandstone. These urban homes are common in the boroughs of New York City. The brownstone homes in the novel represent different things to different people.

For Silla Boyce, the brownstone represents material prosperity in America and is a measure of success among her immigrant peers. She violates Deighton’s trust in her in order to secure the money to buy the brownstone, so the brownstone also represents her determination to secure her dreams at all costs, even the integrity of her marriage and family.

For Deighton Boyce, the brownstone is the undesirable twin to his fantasy home in Barbados. The brownstone represents the burden of expectations from his wife and community. Owning property would require Deighton to work to the extent of giving up all the leisure activities that affirm his identity as a man.

For Selina Boyce, the brownstone initially represents security and safety. She imagines connecting to the white American family that previously lived there, so the brownstone also represents her idealized notions of family and American identity. Once tensions in the Boyce home boil over into arguments between her family, the brownstone comes to represent the fractured nature of her family.