Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

55 reviews

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

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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. 

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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

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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

jkamler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Police brutality, Abandonment, Death, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Grief

franklola's review

emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Addiction, Police brutality, Chronic illness, Medical content, Excrement, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, and Alcohol

allairek's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Death, and Homophobia

ezmaccoll's review

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Terminal illness, and Homophobia

emtekolste's review

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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

A marvelous story of the very personal consequences of the AIDS crisis across decades and generations. The characters are so beautifully developed and loveable, and the story is so well woven together that it takes you on an emotional journey that focuses on the personal but makes very clear the personal consequences of the political. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

waybeyondblue's review

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Chronic illness, and Homophobia

Moderate: Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Vomit

penrodkatie's review

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, Grief, Medical content, and Medical trauma