A review by carireadsbooksandtarot
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

In this dual timeline novel, we follow Yael in the 1980s and Fiona in 2015. Yael is working to procure a rare art collection for Northwestern from an elderly lady who spent her twenties in Paris. As a gay man, he's dealing with the stark realities of the AIDs crisis as he loses friends and worries about his own health. One of his first friends lost to AIDs is Nico, Fiona's brother. Fiona is still dealing with the aftermath of caring for Nico and his friends through the AIDs crisis when she lands in Paris in 2015, trying to find her daughter Claire.

This is a character-driven novel and I found myself feeling particularly connected to Yael and his story. I felt immersed in his life at a time in history that was incredibly tragic and frightening but is rarely visited in novels today. It's hard to believe that this crisis took place in my lifetime and ravaged the queer community so completely in some places like Chicago. This book addresses the issue of mortality so well.

In Fiona, we see how losing so many friends at a young age shaped who she became later in life and even affected her relationship with her daughter. Her memories are so vividly portrayed on the page, a testament to the incredible writing found here. 

I was a little tentative to start this book as it was 18 hours on audio but I really became immersed, especially in 1980s Chicago, and greatly enjoyed the listening experience as narrated by Michael Crouch. This is an emotional read and I think it will stick with me for a while because the story and characters felt so true to life.