by Amy Bloom
First published 2025
Gazala arrives in New York alone after World War II, carrying the weight of survival and the hope of rebuilding. She befriends Anne and Alma, two sisters who become her chosen family in Manhattan. When her brother Samir finally joins her, the four create an unbreakable bond that will anchor them through decades of change. Anne eventually leaves her husband for his sister. Her daughter grows up to raise a child alone and later joins a throuple. Gazala and Samir build their own home together while supporting the expanding circle of loved ones around them. The group weathers passion and heartbreak, births and deaths, protecting each other fiercely while refusing to apologize for their desires. As the next generation comes of age, they look to these four friends as their foundation, calling them "the Greats." Through marriages, divorces, unexpected loves, and daily struggles, this chosen family demonstrates that loyalty transcends convention and that home is something you create with the people who refuse to let you face life alone.
Genres: fiction, family, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, loyalty-transcends-convention
Setting: New York, Manhattan
Period: Post-World War II
272 pages · Hardcover · Random House