Summary

Chapter 3 is titled “Ripples.” Zalman wakes Bluma the next morning after discovering Bubbe's death. The house becomes busy. Zalman tears his shirt; Feygush orders all the mirrors turned to the wall; and community members carry Bubbe's body away. When she turns the mirror, Bluma is reminded of a reflection she saw the previous evening. Downstairs, Feygush empties the barrel of water because death would have washed his knife there. Bluma realizes she saw “the Angel of Death” and that its weapon was a spoon. The people of Tupik gather for the funeral. Yehuda Leib slept near the cemetery and awakened to the sounds of the funeral. He has one more thing to do before leaving town. Bluma finds the spoon under her bed, frozen to the wall. She is surprised to find the edges are sharped, and she cuts her thumb. She puts...