The Great Believers
In 1980s Chicago, a group of friends watches the AIDS crisis decimate their community, while in 2015 Paris, one survivor's daughter searches for her own estranged child. Both timelines trace how loss reverberates across decades.
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What you might want to know about The Great Believers
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In 1985, gallery director Yale Tishman watches his closest friends die of AIDS in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago while chasing a once-in-a-career donation of 1920s Paris art. Thirty years later in Paris, Fiona Marcus, sister of one of those friends, hunts for her runaway daughter.
Yes. The Great Believers was a finalist for the 2018 National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, winning the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Rebecca Makkai also wrote I Have Some Questions for You.
Yes. The Great Believers alternates between 1985 Chicago, during the AIDS crisis, and 2015 Paris. Rebecca Makkai researched the documented history of the AIDS epidemic in Chicago extensively.
The Great Believers was written by Rebecca Makkai, published in 2018 by Fleet.
The Great Believers is 528 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Great Believers takes most readers 8 to 11 hours to finish.
The Great Believers is a standalone novel by Rebecca Makkai, not part of a series.
The Great Believers is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
