lizziaha 's review for:

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
4.5
This book covers a wide breadth of the AIDS epidemic, and what it means to be the survivor. There are some moments that have that aching emotional resonance that kind of empties you out. There are some moments that felt heartbreakingly familiar. But because there is such a diverse cast of characters, it felt like some character work still needed to be done. Despite being the protagonist of the entire 2015 plotline, I didn’t feel like Fiona was entirely fleshed out in the same way that Yale was. I wish we’d seen more of Fiona’s relationship with Claire. It would’ve given the Paris plot more weight. In the same vein, though what we have of Fiona and Yale’s friendship is genuinely moving, it only felt like a small piece of the overall plot. 
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