3 1/2 stars rounded up, because after I discuss with book club, I will like it more. Published in 1925, this autobiographical novel is the story of an immigrant Jewish family who have fled Poland and settled on the LES of Manhattan. Four daughters are expected to work and bring all their money home to support the family, as their Torah scholar father believes he has been put on this earth to read and pray all day, which leaves no time to get a job. The mother is torn between despair and pride, trying to feed this family of 6 and keeping them housed while she has a smart, respected husband. The father absolutely enraged me, as he was not only completely useless, but selfishly destroyed some of his daughters' chances for happiness. Father did not always know best. This is not the best written book, as the author was not a native English speaker and I don't know what kind of editors her publisher, Persea Books employed. I was willing to overlook the flaws to read this novel, with characters who were so familiar to me despite being written nearly a century ago.