Reviews - The Great Believers

7.62k reviews for:

The Great Believers

Rebecca Makkai

4.45 AVERAGE

rileyohhhh's review against another edition

3.75

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: No

i loved this book! it paints a beautifully complex picture of chicago during the aids crisis through the eyes of its protagonist, yale. i didn’t get as invested in fiona’s narrative, though, and would’ve liked more development relating to claire/her relationship with fiona.

monica113's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 so, so good. Such a deep examination of the AIDS epidemic and the people it touched.

glumble's review against another edition

5.0

This was a perfect novel. Absolutely heartbreaking but so powerful. There was a lot going on in this book, but it never felt confusing or overwhelming. I can’t believe this did not get the pulitzer but Overstory did. I also did this as an audiobook, and the narrator did a great job of capturing the emotion of the story.

There was a large cast of characters but i felt like I knew every one of them very deeply by the end.

lewipoint's review against another edition

4.75

emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Absolutely gorgeous characters and a moving story with the aids crisis as it's backdrop.

gretelw's review against another edition

4.75

emotional informative 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

jennmedos's review against another edition

5.0

Really great read. Took some time to get into. Educational about what people went through in the 80s during the AIDS epidemic. I wish they went into a bit more detail about the relationship between Claire and Fiona and why it went sour. I will likely buy this just so I can lend it out.