For this book about escap­ing the shtetls of the Pale of Set­tle­ment to the Low­er East Side of New York City around the year 1900, the title says it all. Life is a series of mis­er­able events for two young sis­ters, Car­sie and Lil­ia Axel­rod, whose sto­ry begins when they wit­ness the mur­der of their par­ents and neigh­bors by Cos­sacks. With some help they even­tu­al­ly make their way to France where they board a ship bound for New York. The girls end up liv­ing in a cramped ten­e­ment apart­ment with a good-for-noth­ing uncle whose wife is moved to take them in. Car­sie is haunt­ed by the deaths she can­not allow her­self to mourn. She forces her­self to be strong and takes respon­si­bil­i­ty for her younger sis­ter. The two work impos­si­ble hours in the sweat­shops and Car­sie even­tu­al­ly real­izes her pro­fes­sion­al dream, while Lil­ia finds love. 

Tragedies con­tin­ue to befall the girls and Car­sie becomes sin­gle-mind­ed about children’s and women’s rights. Celebri­ties includ­ing the Astors, Emma Gold­man, Alfred Stieglitz, and Bugsy Siegel make appear­ances in the sto­ry. This tale has few­er ups than downs and depicts the abject pover­ty and hope­less­ness of the ten­e­ments. The read­er learns about gang wars, Tam­many Hall pol­i­tics, opi­um addic­tion, child labor, treat­ment of women, and lifestyles of the uptown rich. Although there are scarce­ly any hap­py moments in this tale, Car­sie exem­pli­fies a stub­born will to sur­vive and suc­ceed. The author employs much col­or­ful detail in paint­ing her char­ac­ters and the his­toric time and setting.