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jamesgoodwin1982's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
4.75
The Great Believers moves between Chicago in the mid to late 1980s and Paris in 2015. The 1980s segment features a cast of characters, primarily gay men, during the AIDS epidemis and the plot 2015 is focused on Fiona's search for her adult daughter. Thought the novel the author carefully weaves the two stories together.
It's a well written and research book which was informative and devastating at the same time. The parts of the novel written in the 80s was probably the most interesting to me and made me really feel for the cast of characters. I loved the way the author weaved the plot together towards the end. The ending of the novel was both hopeful and devastating in it's description of societal attitudes towards AIDS in the 80s.
I found this book really interesting and once I would highly recommend.
It's a well written and research book which was informative and devastating at the same time. The parts of the novel written in the 80s was probably the most interesting to me and made me really feel for the cast of characters. I loved the way the author weaved the plot together towards the end. The ending of the novel was both hopeful and devastating in it's description of societal attitudes towards AIDS in the 80s.
I found this book really interesting and once I would highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Homophobia
dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, Death, Police brutality, Grief, Sexual content, and Homophobia
ellagrady's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Infidelity and Police brutality
naechan's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I has been two weeks since I finished this book and I still can’t stop thinking about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical trauma, Death, and Grief
bookworms_closet's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia
ariana3's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
This took me longer to read than I wanted it to, it was longer than I think it should have been. It basically describes the AIDS epidemic in Chicago in the early 80s from the general viewpoint of 1 main character (who eventually gets it from a casual fling- after being so careful with his then-longtime bf who cheated, got it, and thought he got it from him but didn't-and ultimately dies). It alternates chapter-by-chapter with that and one of their female friends in the future in 2015. Her brother was one of the first in this friend group to die, so she was always around these men. In the future, she's trying to find her estranged daughter and make amends. It ends a little bittersweet, as Yale (the main character) does indeed die and it describes his slow-ish decline. But Fiona (the girl) finds her daughter and they seem to slowly be repairing/building back their relationship
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Hate crime, and Homophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Excrement, Abandonment, and Mental illness
siobhanward's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Maybe it's because I've read other works that took place during the AIDS crisis that were a whole lot better, but this was the closest I've been to DNFing a book in a long time. While Makkai captured how quickly HIV moved around, and a lot of the attitudes towards it (both from straight folk and LGBT+ folk), this one just didn't have the impact of others I've read. I had trouble connecting to the characters and while my heart broke over and over for Yale, I still found myself waiting for the book to the over. Makkai had a great idea, it just didn't pan out for me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Medical content
sstarliper's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Medical content, Police brutality, and Sexual content
kthumphrey's review
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have always known how the AIDs crisis painfully affected my dad and his friends in the 90s and beyond. This book encapsulates that pain perfectly. A lot of the characters remind me of people he’s talked about and people I’ve met and hung out with through my childhood. The generational trauma is so real.
Also, reading this book while experiencing grief in any sense is so beautiful. Both pain and beauty can exist at the same time. One of my favorite quotes so far, “if you learned new details about someone who was gone, then he wasn’t vanishing. He was getting bigger, realer.” I’m so glad I’m reading it when I am.
Upon finishing, this book was so hard to read at times. I almost needed to finish it to get it off my mind. This was the first book ever I couldn’t read late at night bc I was terrified of having nightmares.
Also, reading this book while experiencing grief in any sense is so beautiful. Both pain and beauty can exist at the same time. One of my favorite quotes so far, “if you learned new details about someone who was gone, then he wasn’t vanishing. He was getting bigger, realer.” I’m so glad I’m reading it when I am.
Upon finishing, this book was so hard to read at times. I almost needed to finish it to get it off my mind. This was the first book ever I couldn’t read late at night bc I was terrified of having nightmares.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
sestout's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, Sexual content, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Minor: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, War, and Police brutality