The Decline of the WEst Author:David Caute Much of the story takes place in Africa in a country called Coppernica, which suggests partly Algeria and partly the Congo-although the subtle exploration of character and motive ranges as far away as New York, the Deep South, Paris and England. The central theme is universal-and terrifying: that apparently decent people cannot discover a human... more »e code of conduct toward those who are separated from them by race, class, geography that good intenions are not enough; that the innocent as well as the evil are implicated in atrocities.« less