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The Great Believers
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
A dazzling new novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris, by the acclaimed and award-winning author Rebecca Makkai In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is about to pull off an amazing coup, bringing an extraordinary collection of 1920s paintings as a gift to the gallery. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDs epidemic grows around him. One by one, his friends are dying and after his friend Nico's funeral, he finds his partner is infected, and that he might even have the virus himself. The only person he has left is Fiona, Nico's little sister. Thirty years later, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. While staying with an old friend, a famous photographer who documented the Chicago epidemic, she finds herself finally grappling with the devastating ways the AIDS crisis affected her life and her relationship with her daughter. Yale and Fiona's stories unfold in incredibly moving and sometimes surprising ways, as both struggle to find goodness in the face of disaster.
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MindyK59
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

This book is one of the best that I have read recently. It was written so beautifully. It was a story involving gay men in 1980‘s Chicago in the midst of the AIDS crisis and alternated with the art world in Paris in 2015. It was so touching about a very scary time when nobody really knew what AIDS was about. Then it brought the reader full circle to show how it affected those involved with it. I highly recommend reading it.

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DocBrown
Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

So I‘ve had this on my TBR for YEARS and finally got around to reading it. Boy am I glad I did! It‘s a tour de force! Joins The Latecomer and The Goldfinch in a Trinity of masterful books about art. I love the interweaving plot threads and the verisimilitude. And the rootedness in place (Chicago and Paris). All the feels for this excellent story, excellently told ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Photo of Chicago‘s Marina City from Wikipedia)

Silverneurotic This is one of my favorite books from last year. 1mo
emz711 I saw this on the Chicago architecture tour. Where they take you around on a ferry and you get to see all the different types of buildings. Really fun way to see the city 1mo
DocBrown @emz711 Yes I so agree! I did the architecture tour with my oldest son when he was in college. It was part of the City Pass package and I was not expecting much. It turned out to be the highlight of our visit!! 1mo
DocBrown @Silverneurotic Definitely one of my favorites from this year so far. Only a few weeks in but it will be hard to beat! 1mo
44 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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Readerann
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

Powerful and heartbreaking.

16 likes1 stack add
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Liz_M
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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#12Booksof2023

I did not get much reading done in September, but this probably would have been the best book of the month regardless. All the feels.

@Andrew65

Andrew65 Looks a good read. 😁 3mo
CatLass007 You have a lovely reading buddy. What‘s his/her name? 3mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 3mo
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CatLass007 Then you have a very handsome reading buddy.😻 3mo
BarbaraBB Hi Bert 👋🏽. Enjoyed that book too. 3mo
41 likes6 comments
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Mslefinger
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
Pickpick

Easily one of the best books I've ever read. Meticulous character development. Heartbreaking. Thoroughly researched. And yet it reads like a thriller. I wept through the last few chapters, and somehow I was grateful for it. A masterpiece.

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Silverneurotic
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
Pickpick

This book destroyed me. It was so good, but so devastating at the same time.

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REPollock
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Didn‘t know about this readathon but I read nine books this month and bailed on one, so I‘m counting it a win! Tagged book is my favorite of the lot.

#SummerEndReadathon @TheSpineView

TheSpineView Great job! 6mo
13 likes1 comment
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REPollock
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

My first read of this author but not the last. So good, a poignant intricate puzzle of a plot. I cried several times, partly because of empathy but also because I grew to love the characters.

Tiffiney One of favorite books! 7mo
REPollock @Tiffiney so good it left me speechless 7mo
26 likes2 comments
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Tkimsal
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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30 Book Recommendations in 30 Days — Day 4

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Soubhiville
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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My May wrap up.
Books I loved this month: The Great Believers, The Bone Shard War, The Language of Butterflies, Body of Work, Ducks.
The only one I didn‘t really like was Void Star.
🖤📚🖤📚🖤

Shemac77 Body of Work was so great! 10mo
SamAnne Read Ducks this past month as well. Will be one of my top reads of the year. 10mo
PurpleyPumpkin Looks like you had a great reading month. Well done!👏🏽 10mo
Megabooks Ducks was fantastic!! 10mo
73 likes4 comments
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Soubhiville
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

Okay, everyone should read this. It‘s a beautiful story of friendship and love and complicated life and art in the 80‘s in Chicago, in a gay community at the height of the AIDS crisis. It‘s so touching and frustrating and heartbreaking and I really loved it. Great very real characters with messy real lives, and I just wanted to hug them and hang out with them and cry with them. Thanks for bringing this book into my life @AmyG 💕

AmyG I am so happy that we both loved this one. 👊🏻❤️ 10mo
LeeRHarry Thought this was great. 10mo
Cinfhen Read this for bookclub/ we all enjoyed and had great discussion 10mo
81 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Branwen
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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My book haul from today! 💕📚

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Winkyle86
Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
Pickpick

This was such an emotional journey for me. Any book that dives into the AIDS crisis of the 1980s always gets me feeling so many things. I really loved the way this book was crafted, gently rocking back and forth in time. Highest recommendation

marleed I feel the same way, I think because the 80s are so vivid to my memory. Also because my brother was gay and a strong advocate for gay rights. He died of AIDS. 13mo
Winkyle86 @marleed I‘m so sorry to hear that 13mo
5 likes2 comments
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Kat.Kao
Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
Pickpick

This is one of those books I‘m always going to be thinking about. It‘s incredibly well-researched, and the characters are so vivid. It does so much with a lot of themes I love: time, names, intergenerational trauma. One storyline is set during the AIDS crisis in mid 1980s Chicago, and the other is set in Paris in 2015. It‘s a gorgeous book, and I can‘t wait to reread it.

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Areader2
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

Set in Chicago in early 80s this story was about a community of friends who sadly were effected by the aids crisis, and how a sister of one of the group‘s friends Fiona immersed her self in helping each of them but how the trauma of that effected her life
It‘s a important part of the past and brought back memories of a coworker who died from this terrible virus
My final book of #joyousjanuary was happy I met all my goals

Andrew65 That‘s brilliant, well done and thanks for playing along. 👏👏👏🙌🥳🍾🥂😍 1y
33 likes1 comment
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TheSpineView
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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ChaoticMissAdventures Love both of these! Buckets of tears, both are so amazing. Rent was my first broadway show, and at 15 I was SOBBING in the audience. Embarrassing, but it really taught me so much about how stories can create real empathy.
1y
Klou Great choice! This is a musical I still need to see. I love the songs from it 1y
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Magpiegem
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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This one knocked everything else out of the park this month. And that‘s really saying something as I also read The House in the Cerulean Sea. Just a fantastic amount of skill in the way Makkai built the story, it will definitely stay with me.

So in the end my first book come up against my last! But The Night Circus had to take it for the pure amount of pleasure it gave me reading it and for opening up a new genre to me. Thanks to @chasjjlee

Sapphire I have this on my TBR. Bought it in 2015 at the Savannah book festival after hearing the author in a panel. Still haven‘t gotten to it. Maybe this year! 1y
Magpiegem @Sapphire yes read it! It sat on my bookshelf for years too! 😊 1y
33 likes2 comments
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BekaReid
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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I've got two reading buddies this morning as I work on my first book of 2023.

kspenmoll Sweet! 1y
14 likes1 comment
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Magpiegem
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
Pickpick

Wow what a beautiful and devastating book. I picked it up for #Booked2022 #abouttheaidsepedemic and I‘m so glad (again) that this challenge made me read outside my comfort zone. Extremely well written and truly heartbreaking it is a dual timeline portrait of generational trauma, love, regret, grief. I highly recommend it but save it for a time when you have the emotional strength.

LeeRHarry This book has really stayed with me and I read it a few years ago now 😥 1y
Magpiegem @LeeRHarry it will stay with me too! 1y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I truly loved this one! Glad you found it and gave it a go! 1y
Cinfhen Glad you enjoyed both the book and the challenge 💜 1y
30 likes1 stack add4 comments
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BekaReid
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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My reading buddies this morning

RaeLovesToRead Kitties!!!! 😍😍😍 1y
22 likes1 comment
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Magpiegem
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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It‘s that time of year when all becomes sparkly chaos in my house. But in moments between the cookie decorating and ice skating I am listening to this book for #booked2022 #abouttheaidsepedemic . Not that festive, but so far very good. And as usual I am squeezing my last couple of prompts in before the end of the year!

Cinfhen Awesome photo 😍I read this for bookclub. It‘s definitely a good one! Good luck wrapping up the challenges….you can do it! 1y
Magpiegem @Cinfhen I have been thinking how good this would be for my bookclub. Lots to discuss! Lots of great characters. Xx 1y
27 likes2 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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#tbt I am starting Makkai's newest book and I am so excited. Her Great Believers is one of my all time favorite reads. It is a rich, complex and heartbreaking story with vivid characters and concerning a found family in 1980's Chicago and how the AIDS epidemic ravaged their community. While the core of the story is painful and sad, it is also filled with hope and love, and excellent writing.

rachelm I just finished an arc of her newest! I enjoyed 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures @rachelm oh good! I am starting it as soon as I can finish Eleanor Catton's ARC! 1y
SamAnne Loved this one. Brought back some sad memories of coming of age in the 80s. 1y
22 likes3 comments
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Bookwormjillk
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

This book broke my heart in all the best ways. It‘s a dual timeline book set in Chicago during the AIDS crisis and 2015 Paris. So glad I ran across this one.

AmyG I absolutely loved this one. 1y
SamAnne I loved this one. Came of age in the late 80s, early 90s and it really resonated. 1y
69 likes2 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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#manicmonday #letterg @CBee @Librariana
📚 Great Believers (Makkai)
✍️ Lauren Groff, Yaa Gyasi
🍿 Gattaca
🎤 Guns & Roses
🎶 Gangsta Paradise (Coolio)

CBee Thanks for playing 😊😊 2y
19 likes1 comment
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ChaoticMissAdventures
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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#pridebookrec fiction week

This is one of my all time top 10 favorite books.
Raw and emotional, this is a look at a group of gay men in 1985 Chicago, dealing with the AIDS epidemic and art and friendship, it's gorgeously written and the characters will live with you for long after you put the book down.

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HeatherBookNerd
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

A reread of a favorite book. It switches between two timelines. In 1980s Chicago we follow Yale and his group of gay friends as they navigate the burgeoning AIDS crisis. One man‘s sister, Fiona, becomes caretaker for many of the dying. The other thread finds Fiona in Paris in 2015, seeking out her estranged daughter and reconnecting with one of the old friends from Chicago. It is a story of the human cost of this generation of lost men. Stunning.

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HeatherBookNerd
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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It‘s 4:17am. Work at 8:00am. Good thing I love this book.

Soubhiville Ugh. Hope tonight is better. 2y
Nutmegnc I have severe asthma too. I hope you feel better soon. 2y
AmyG Feel better! 2y
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HeatherBookNerd @Soubhiville @Nutmegnc thank you. I‘m headed to work on about 3 hours sleep, but still feel pretty amped. Steroids are so weird. I am breathing better though! 2y
marleed Oh I‘m sorry. I can‘t imagine a full day of work following 3 hours sleep on top of dealing with asthma. I hope work is good to you today. 2y
HeatherBookNerd @AmyG @marleed thanks. I‘ll make it. Sleeping in tomorrow 👍🏼 2y
Caroline2 Oh no! I hope you feel better soon 💐 2y
37 likes7 comments
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bravenewtrav
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
Pickpick

An epic, realistic read into the lives of the men in Chicago in the 80s affected by AIDS. I appreciated the back and forth perspective in chapters.

EmilyM One of my favorite books! 2y
6 likes1 comment
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christhelesbian
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
Pickpick

i read this for my death class and wow i learned so much about grief and the process of coming to terms with the loss of so many loved ones i would def recommend to anyone if you are gay or if you aren‘t
a good perspective about aids and it‘s effect on the gay community in chicago also cool cause i live in the street where a lot of stuff took place in this book

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plemmdog
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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“He was soft, as if his skin had never seen the weather, and when a bone—an elbow, a kneecap, a rib—showed through, it was like a foreign object poking at a piece of silk.”

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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readwithcori
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

While not the most well-written or attention grabbing, The Great Believers sincerely tugged on my heart in more ways than one. A dual storyline jumping between Chicago and Paris covering the AIDS crisis in Chicago, love, family, grief, and loss. A slower read but one that is still very much worth it in my opinion. 3.5/5 stars for me 🌟

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cariashley
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

My god, was not fully prepared for how devastating this book would be, even though I knew going in that it would be a tough read. Its brilliance is that it‘s not gratuitous, though. This book also provides an enraging education on how poorly the AIDS crisis was handled in this country and the disgusting politics of our healthcare system. One of the best reads of the year for me.

SamAnne Loved this one. For me, brought back some sad memories of the 80s. 3y
BarbaraBB I loved this one too! If you can handle another book about AIDS I can recommend this one: 3y
42 likes2 comments
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cariashley
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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This book is so good, why did I wait so long to read it? Once #SullivanCat stops sleeping on it, I look forward to continuing 😹 #catsoflitsy #kal

kspenmoll 😻😹 3y
Ruthiella 😻😻😻 3y
Catsandbooks Precious sleeping kitty! 3y
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Liz_M Look at those little white paws! 😻 3y
marleed I felt the same way - read this year! 3y
BookishMarginalia Oh my goodness, what a pose! 3y
66 likes6 comments
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readwithcori
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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New #Currentread + naps + dog cuddles. A lovely Saturday to give my body some much needed R & R.

I‘ve had The Great Believers on my TBR for some time now. Finally sitting down to read it. If you‘ve read it, tell me your thoughts in the comments 📖💗 Happy Saturday!

#TheGreatBelievers #RebeccaMakkai #books #reading

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Enjoy!! 💞 3y
readwithcori @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thank you, fingers crossed it‘s a good one! 💗 3y
11 likes2 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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#curiouscovers #orange
So many of my favorite books are orange covered.
#pridemonth has me tagging the heartbreakingly fantastic Great Believers.
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

kspenmoll Pretty!!! 3y
Viji Great ones! 3y
Eggs Beautiful arrangement 🧡📙🧡 3y
25 likes3 comments
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JillR
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

The author drops you off in the middle of a group of friends and trusts you to sort out what‘s going on and I liked that. Following said group of friends as they navigate Chicago during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and alternating with 2015 and a mother desperately searching for her daughter in Paris, slowly I was drawn into these character‘s lives, the fear and sadness they experienced, and didn‘t want to let them go. An excellent read.

TrishB I loved this one, not seen that cover before. 3y
JillR @trishb me too, and yes most reviews I‘ve seen have it with a yellow cover. I only got it recently so perhaps it‘s a new one... 3y
squirrelbrain This has been on my physical TBR shelf for a while - I *will* get to it sometime....! (edited) 3y
Cathythoughts Nice review 👍🏻 I started this & never finished it ... must go back. I‘ve never seen this cover either , nice cover too 3y
Jess I had such a book hangover from this one and missed the characters for quite awhile. Loved it. 3y
50 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Deblovestoread
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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#BookReport #WeeklyForecast Standouts of the week are the tagged book and Red at the Bone. Woodson is a master story teller. In less than 200 pages you know these characters and come away with sadness and hope. The others were all enjoyable reads. This week Librarian and Cyprus are for #Booked2021, and I can‘t put down Words in Deep Blue.

Cinfhen I loved this memoir on audio / I thought it was amazing 3y
Cinfhen And I really enjoyed both Red at the Bone and 3y
44 likes1 stack add2 comments
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vlwelser
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

This book is both beautifully written and incredibly sad. I don't normally pick such a long #audiobook but I'm glad that I did.

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ncsufoxes
Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

Wow, what a story. I loved how the author said at the end of the book that she was hoping to spur more research about the gay community in Chicago in the 1980s since there is such little information. It was such a good and heartbreaking story, I loved Yale. I grew up in the 80s but in a very small town in NJ, so I was unaware of what was really happening in the world, aside from what was on the news. One more #bookspin book & #doublespinbook

15 likes1 comment
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rachelm
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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My stack from Independent Bookstore Day! I‘ve listened to and loved OVE but the rest are on my TBR!

Librariana The tagged title is on my TBR list, too! 😊 3y
BarbaraBB The Great Believers is fantastic but I loved The Sea The Sea even more. 3y
75 likes3 comments
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violabrain
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

Oh my heart! This book is amazing! I cried multiple times. It was also interesting reading a book set during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s while living through a global pandemic.

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violabrain
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

Oh my heart! This book is amazing! I cried multiple times. It was also interesting reading a book set during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s while living through a global pandemic.

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marleed
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

This is an excellent book. I‘m so grateful books like this tell the horrific story for the generation who didn‘t get to grow old. ...As a gay rights activist my brother survived the 80s & 90s but ultimately succumbed to AIDS. His health insurance quest was a journey. In Seattle he was supported by a wonderful community in a right-to-die state, hospital, and doctor - all 3 necessary when he finally knew to ask the correct question.

Mitch Thank you for sharing your family‘s story ♥️ 3y
readordierachel ❤❤ 3y
Scochrane26 I love this book. Sad that you lost your brother. 3y
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marleed @Mitch @readordierachel @Scochrane26 Oh thank you. He was my older brother. I didn‘t truly understand his plight until nearer the 90s and books like this make it real all over again. So important to remember and understand how devastating it was. (edited) 3y
Jas16 ❤️ 3y
Megabooks 💜💜 3y
SamAnne @Marleed this book really hit home for me as well. Thankfully my two brothers made it through alive. But the heartbreak was all around in Portland OR in the early 90s. Sorry you lost your brother to that devastating pandemic. (edited) 3y
Tera66 💙 3y
marleed @SamAnne Oh, I‘m so happy your brother s survived those perilous decades. 3y
marleed @Jas16 @Megabooks @Tera66 Ahh, I appreciate your hearts - in beautiful rainbow colors, no less. My brother would laugh with me if I told you they were fabulous! 3y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick 💛 Thank you for sharing his story. 3y
80 likes1 stack add11 comments
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SanjanaGhosh
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

It was so good reading this book, especially since it's about a disease which I knew existed but was not really aware of the taboos behind it at the time 😊

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EmilyM
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Pickpick

This book. Wow! I was instantly absorbed into these characters' lives. I learned so much about the fear, horror and stigma regarding the AIDS virus in its early days. I was a child then and wasn't aware of much more than "it was bad to get" and that a boy named Ryan was ostracized for having it. I didn't know about the fear it caused in the gay community, nor did I know about the horrible journey from diagnosis to death. Highly recommend! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

michellelav I really enjoyed this one! 3y
AmyG The ending for me made me weep. Loved this book so much. 3y
37 likes2 comments
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cajunsyd
The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai
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Already loving this one after only 30 pages. And what a vibrant cover!

AmyG I loved this. The end had me in tears. Soso good. 3y
cajunsyd @AmyG 👍🏻👍🏻 3y
ErikasMindfulShelf Such a great book! 3y
cajunsyd @ErikasMindfulShelf I am loving it!! 3y
41 likes4 comments