7.63k reviews for:

The Great Believers

Rebecca Makkai

4.45 AVERAGE

dark emotional

Heartbreakingly beautiful. This book brought to life such an important part of history, and being set in Chicago, it really hit my heart. Yale’s chapters >> Fiona’s chapters sorry.
emotional hopeful 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: Yes
emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character

One of those books that closing it to do other things feels unnatural. All I wanted to do was get back home to read more about Yale and Fiona.

The story takes place between Chicago (80s) and Paris (2015) and centers around Yale, an art curator and Fiona, a vintage store owner. There are many other important and impactful characters throughout the pages that I will continue to think about, but sadly, the main character was the AIDS crisis that ravaged the world in the 80s.

Throughout the book, there is so much friendship, fear, hope, loss, and (most prominent) love. Pleaaaase add this one to your tbr list if you haven’t already. You won’t regret it!
challenging dark 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: Complicated

So so good. A story about the 1980s AIDS crisis in Chicago. I fell in love with the characters and felt their pain. Although there was so much loss in the book, it is also a story of deep friendship.
emotional 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: Yes
challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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: No