I could answer this directly but the story is narrated from Marcus' first person point of view and he is aware that he spent time in West Harbour and thinks he may have grown up there but has no idea if he did and for how long. There's this constant tension between the fantastical and the mundane, between a sense of familiarity and a more commonplace explanation of forgotten events. As Chuck Palahniuk wrote, “There's an opposite to déjà vu. They call it jamais vu. It's when you meet the same people or visit places, again and again, but each time is the first. Everybody is always a stranger. Nothing is ever familiar.”

As for the going (into/in to) work line, I meant going to work in the library but the preposition is dubious - I think you're referring to another idiom, getting into work - ex getting into work = getting down to work whereas getting in to work = arriving at the workplace. It's wave and particle theory of language. I'm more wave; you're more particle; still, we're friends, ha ha