rachelmay1's review against another edition
4.0
A slow burn that provided a window into a time period I knew little about. The 80s are celebrated so much and this perspective showed an important viewpoint on something I never knew much about.
julietted_'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
steve_sanders's review against another edition
5.0
The 80’s narrative thread is simply phenomenal. Maybe the best fiction I’ve ever encountered about the early days of the epidemic. The 2015 Paris plot line wound up feeling a little padded and anticlimactic in comparison. But a must-read nevertheless.
beelzebean's review against another edition
5.0
Being only a kid in the 1980's and the early 90's, I did not directly experience the AIDS epidemic. But at that age, I remember there being a running joke in schoolyards to claim that another kid had AIDS, then running away screaming from them. I don't think kids around me truly knew what AIDS was, only that it was a contagious disease, and jokes accusing someone of being gay were extremely common. See any comedy skit produced during that time.
This book gives a very human and very tragic view into the gay scene in Chicago during the AIDS crisis. It's SO human that it's clear that Makkai put some research into real personal stories of that time. It is a well written book full of loss, but also love, friendship and nostalgia. When Yale says "I was living in the Golden Age and didn't even know it!" I felt it deeply in my gut.
To be honest, parts of this book was slow moving and perhaps it was a few pages too long, but overall, I'm glad to have read it. I loved the art elements, Nora's story, and the travel back and forth through time. Maybe more embellishments on Paris would have been nice, but I'm a sucker for that type of thing.
I can only imagine that those who experienced the AIDS crisis first hand will feel this book deeply.
This book gives a very human and very tragic view into the gay scene in Chicago during the AIDS crisis. It's SO human that it's clear that Makkai put some research into real personal stories of that time. It is a well written book full of loss, but also love, friendship and nostalgia. When Yale says "I was living in the Golden Age and didn't even know it!" I felt it deeply in my gut.
To be honest, parts of this book was slow moving and perhaps it was a few pages too long, but overall, I'm glad to have read it. I loved the art elements, Nora's story, and the travel back and forth through time. Maybe more embellishments on Paris would have been nice, but I'm a sucker for that type of thing.
I can only imagine that those who experienced the AIDS crisis first hand will feel this book deeply.
sjfrancis's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
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
5.0
jeffrey's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
caith's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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? No
4.25
karaklos's review against another edition
1.0
I am so glad to be done with this book. I disliked it very much.
The Great Believers alternates between two different time periods and places: 1980’s Chicago and 2015 Paris. The 1980’s portion follows a young gay man named Yale and his group of friends and his work. This portion has two interesting components: the AIDS crisis in Chicago and a significant art acquisition Yale is leading. The 2015 portion follows Fiona who is trying to track down her estranged adult daughter. This portion seems like it will be interesting but quite frankly isn’t.
While there is good material to make this a great read, the author doesn’t focus on it. The book spends so much time on minute details instead of the meat of the story. There was one paragraph where Yale was testing all the pens in his desk drawer to see which ones still worked. The pens were actually described...this one had northwestern on it and this one was dead. Please author, can I have one of those pens to stick in my eye? I’m sorry, who cares!
There is such an opportunity to discuss what these men went through. Instead of just stating that they’re mad at Reagan, why were they mad? What was or wasn’t happening? Tell me more about the fight instead of who was lusting after who.
The character development in this book is really poor. I kept asking myself who is Asher again? Which one is Teddy? They are supposedly a family but you never really know any of them. I didn’t like a single character.
Yale had an intern and he was thinking about being his sexual mentor and I was thinking if this were a male boss & female intern, it would not be acceptable at all. There was a sexual encounter where bodily fluids came out and landed on a table and they wiped it off with a towel. Really? Do we need this level of detail?!
A really boring, terrible read.
The Great Believers alternates between two different time periods and places: 1980’s Chicago and 2015 Paris. The 1980’s portion follows a young gay man named Yale and his group of friends and his work. This portion has two interesting components: the AIDS crisis in Chicago and a significant art acquisition Yale is leading. The 2015 portion follows Fiona who is trying to track down her estranged adult daughter. This portion seems like it will be interesting but quite frankly isn’t.
While there is good material to make this a great read, the author doesn’t focus on it. The book spends so much time on minute details instead of the meat of the story. There was one paragraph where Yale was testing all the pens in his desk drawer to see which ones still worked. The pens were actually described...this one had northwestern on it and this one was dead. Please author, can I have one of those pens to stick in my eye? I’m sorry, who cares!
There is such an opportunity to discuss what these men went through. Instead of just stating that they’re mad at Reagan, why were they mad? What was or wasn’t happening? Tell me more about the fight instead of who was lusting after who.
The character development in this book is really poor. I kept asking myself who is Asher again? Which one is Teddy? They are supposedly a family but you never really know any of them. I didn’t like a single character.
Yale had an intern and he was thinking about being his sexual mentor and I was thinking if this were a male boss & female intern, it would not be acceptable at all. There was a sexual encounter where bodily fluids came out and landed on a table and they wiped it off with a towel. Really? Do we need this level of detail?!
A really boring, terrible read.
delosborn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.25
vbarrett17's review against another edition
1.0
The only reason I am even giving this book one star instead of zero is because I enjoyed the audiobook narrator...other than that, I did not enjoy the story.
The novel is definitely character driven, but there is zero character development in any of the characters, and the plot is very dull/non-existent. Instead of facing their trauma and learning from their mistakes, they would just keep making the same exact decisions and sometimes even increase their destructive behavior. They would consistently use the excuse of drunkenness as the reason why they made bad decisions rather than admit to the fact that being drunk 24/7 in order to ignore their problems is probably not the best idea
The novel is definitely character driven, but there is zero character development in any of the characters, and the plot is very dull/non-existent. Instead of facing their trauma and learning from their mistakes, they would just keep making the same exact decisions and sometimes even increase their destructive behavior. They would consistently use the excuse of drunkenness as the reason why they made bad decisions rather than admit to the fact that being drunk 24/7 in order to ignore their problems is probably not the best idea