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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Read this book.
It is riveting. Honestly, I wasn't prepared for how much I loved this book. Makkai's writing strikes a wonderful balance of intellect and emotional charge; the work travels in between the hackneyed and the unfounded, swaying much closer to the latter.
Given the parallel storylines (Chicago, late 80s-early 90s, AIDS crisis/Paris, 2015, searching for an estranged daughter), the story remains remarkably intact. Some reviews I have read, notably Michael Cunningham's in the New York Times, hint that the reader may desire a stronger purpose for the simultaneously unfolding narrative. For me, the stories connect enough to put them in the same world while, at the same time, different enough that what you learn and experience in one somehow lets you delve deeper in the other.
If I remember Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides because I think the last page of the novel is some of the best prose ever written, I would I say I will always remember The Great Believers because Makkai's description of the onset and experience of death is on a plane that I am not sure I have experienced in a piece of fiction. The characters' embrace, resistance, and acceptance of death is nuanced and particular to each character while maintaining a sense of universality. From the first few pages, we preview death - where it will take place, how it will take place - and yet each experience feels new and ethereal. She writes a death scene like a Polaroid developing in reverse and it is wonderful.
At one point, one of the characters wonders, Where does all the love go, when we lose someone? It bleeds outside of the pages of the novel and into the heart of the reader.
It is riveting. Honestly, I wasn't prepared for how much I loved this book. Makkai's writing strikes a wonderful balance of intellect and emotional charge; the work travels in between the hackneyed and the unfounded, swaying much closer to the latter.
Given the parallel storylines (Chicago, late 80s-early 90s, AIDS crisis/Paris, 2015, searching for an estranged daughter), the story remains remarkably intact. Some reviews I have read, notably Michael Cunningham's in the New York Times, hint that the reader may desire a stronger purpose for the simultaneously unfolding narrative. For me, the stories connect enough to put them in the same world while, at the same time, different enough that what you learn and experience in one somehow lets you delve deeper in the other.
If I remember Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides because I think the last page of the novel is some of the best prose ever written, I would I say I will always remember The Great Believers because Makkai's description of the onset and experience of death is on a plane that I am not sure I have experienced in a piece of fiction. The characters' embrace, resistance, and acceptance of death is nuanced and particular to each character while maintaining a sense of universality. From the first few pages, we preview death - where it will take place, how it will take place - and yet each experience feels new and ethereal. She writes a death scene like a Polaroid developing in reverse and it is wonderful.
At one point, one of the characters wonders, Where does all the love go, when we lose someone? It bleeds outside of the pages of the novel and into the heart of the reader.
I forgot to rate this right after I finished it. I think I liked it.
challenging
emotional
sad
Devastating. Wonderful.
wow. probably could be the best book i read this year and it’s only july. equally heartbreaking and beautiful i want to cry
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
such a wistful and tragic read -- parallels of grief are so good, but the ripples of the epidemic into fiona’s story is sooo fucking sad. love love how personal everything seems if that makes sense. like every character is so distinct + so flawed and real.
when the paris attacks hit and fiona says I hate that we have to live in the middle of history really does apply both time periods and now which is so tragic but wonderfully written like dang.
Fiona doubted it. The chaos of the world had never helped her before. That it might help now seemed ridiculous.
it’s two different times but the way it all weaves together in the end is gorgeous too. claire’s resentment and fiona’s whole motherly mission started the day yale’s story of love and grief ended. at first it felt like fiona’s story was so different and almost inconsequential compared to yale’s. but! her character is truly of the one who survived and has to live with the memories, something explored so well.
also ! the way each story concludes with an emotional gallery visit really underscores the point that art and photography truly capture people’s stories !
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I loved this book. It was beautifully written and I found the characters to be truly unforgettable. I will admit to not knowing much about the beginning of the AIDS crisis and reading about this time left me with a profound sadness but ultimately I think this book was also full of joy and hope. So many feelings to feel reading this book. Even when humans are at our worst, there is still beauty and art to sustain us.
emotional
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated