Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

79 reviews

loryyyy's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

addie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

Minor: Addiction, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Racism

elizapease's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

The Great Believers challenged me in a way no book has before. My perceptions of the AIDS crisis completely shifted, my perception of loss, trauma, guilt, hardship and so much more were all deeply challenged. This is a tough read - but it’s also incredibly beautiful and colorful and funny. It makes you feel like you’re falling in love - with a city, a new lover, a friend, the book itself. 

While this book is all too amazing, I subtracted half a star because i found the sections of Fiona searching for her daughter in paris to feel lackluster in comparison to its parallel storyline in the 80’s. I often wanted to rush through that half of the book to return to Yale’s perspective. I still found it compelling, beautiful, and admittedly a necessary relief to the horrors of the past. It was an important perspective in many ways, illustrating the far reaching impacts of the AIDS crisis on its survivors and their loved ones. 

The Great Believers has the power to effect great change- not just from the influences of reading an amazing book, but from the light it shined on this terrible miscarriage of justice, the very real nightmare of the AIDS crisis brought to life in screaming color.  Yes this is a book about tragedy and mortality - but where it succeeds most is in painting a beautiful portrait of life, friendship, hope, and the things that make our time on earth worthwhile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

fynn_jls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Suicide

froggydanny's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Homophobia

Moderate: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Alcohol

kaela_arcuri's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Abandonment, and Medical content

victoriarose12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Bullying

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wanted to like this book more than I did.  The dual timelines broke up the story too much for me.  I preferred the story set in 1980s Chicago to the one in the present day.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Grief, Outing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Blood, Body shaming, Dementia, Drug use, Excrement, Medical content, and Abandonment

elenushka8's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Terminal illness

Moderate: Homophobia

zosiablue's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is how I was able to finally pinpoint that I feel grief in my chest and stomach. I haven't read anything this gutting in a long, long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Medical content, Death, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Infidelity, and Addiction