Book II: The Picture Summary

The nine short chapters comprising Book II begin with a major change in David's life. Father has landed a job as a milkman, navigating a horse-driven wagon through the streets of a neighborhood quite far from their flat. In order to be closer to his route, the family moves to a new section of the city, specifically the Lower East Side, a noisy, crowded and cluttered area. They now live on the top floor of an apartment house with a skylight window, which David finds relaxing, compensating for the other inconveniences of his young life. Father now goes to work at night and sleeps during the day, so David must remain quiet or outside when he comes home from school. Another change has been the arrival from Austria of Genya's younger sister, Bertha. She moves in over...