At a cosmetics presentation, the brand's founder talks about body scrubs (those abrasive powders rubbed into the skin to remove dead layers), named after various cities: Istanbul, Tokyo, Lisbon

At a cosmetics presentation, the brand's founder talks about body scrubs (those abrasive powders rubbed into the skin to remove dead layers), named after various cities: Istanbul, Tokyo, Lisbon. The business lady says that her body-care line Lisbon was inspired by her beloved Remarque and his novel The Night in Lisbon. I am not quibbling, I am merely curious: which particular place in this novel, tragic down to its last line, could have suggested creams and potions of beauty? Hitler's violation of the Munich Agreement? Everyday life in an internment camp for civilians? Crawling under barbed wire? A night in a forest, on insect-infested ground? Or perhaps the unbearable torments of the heroine, who believes that worms are devouring her from within? Only do not tell me that torture in the Gestapo makes one long to plunge at once into a warm bath and anoint oneself with a scented lotion.