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A review by drlark
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
An impressive piece of storytelling, for sure, worthy of the praise it's gotten, The Great Believers follows two time lines. The first is 1980s Chicago at the height of the aids crisis, where our hero Yale finds his community and his relationships increasingly threatened by this new and terrifying virus. The 2nd is 2015 in Paris, where Fiona, whose brother died of aids back in the 80s, is looking for her estranged daughter.
I found myself totally enthralled with both characters' stories. Makkai writes messy relationships really well, in a way that makes this a page-turner. Most impressive, though, is the way she evokes the emotions and the setting of this period, both during and in its aftermath. The trauma and the tragedy were almost more than I could handle, but the storytelling is so good, and the audiobook narration is SO STELLAR, I loved this. I was even invested in the art acquisition b plot.
I found myself totally enthralled with both characters' stories. Makkai writes messy relationships really well, in a way that makes this a page-turner. Most impressive, though, is the way she evokes the emotions and the setting of this period, both during and in its aftermath. The trauma and the tragedy were almost more than I could handle, but the storytelling is so good, and the audiobook narration is SO STELLAR, I loved this. I was even invested in the art acquisition b plot.