I’ll Be Right Here

“Immigrating alone from Paris to New York after the crucible of World War II, Gazala Benamar, still a teenager, becomes fast friends with two spirited sisters, Anne and Alma. When Gazala’s lost, beloved brother Samir finally joins her in Manhattan, this contentious, inseparable foursome will last into the twenty-first century, becoming the beating heart of a multigenerational found family. These decades are marked by the business of everyday life and the inevitable surprises of erupting passions [and] great and small waves of joy and despair, from the beginning of life to its end. Gazala and Samir make a home together, Alma loses a baby, Anne leaves her husband for his sister, and Anne’s restless daughter grows up to raise a child on her own and join a throuple, becoming who she wanted to be. Through it all, and the history of these decades, the four friends, and their best beloveds, stand by one another–protecting, annoying, and celebrating each other”–