The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

It is the day after Josef’s arrival in New York. Josef is at his aunt’s house; her name is Ethel Klayman. Sam awakens to Josef drawing. Sam is impressed with Josef’s skill and feels that his dream might finally have a chance of coming true. At this point, the two boys decide to change their monikers. Josef assumes his best American accent and tells Sam to call him Joe. Sam wants to be known as Sam Clay. At breakfast, Joe meets Bubbie, Sam’s grandmother, who doesn’t pay attention to Joe. Bubbie was the first to come over from Europe, from Lemberg, and has never really had any connection to her relatives.

Sam wants to hurry off to work because his boss, Anapol, docks the pay of people who show up after eight o’clock in the morning. Ethel comments that she knows Joe will be able to draw a nice lizard, reminding Sam of one of his previous, failed attempts at doing artwork for his job. Sam slips and mentions how Joe won’t have to draw such things because they are going to make comic books together. Ethel is very much against the idea of comic books, which are trash in her opinion.