Shortlisted for the National Book Award last year, Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers tells a story of devastation and loss in Chicago during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Interwoven with this narrative is a connected story set in modern day Paris, as a woman in her 50s, Fiona, searches for her estranged daughter. Fiona, whose older brother died in the other timeline, learns how surviving tragedies in our youth can affect our lives for years in unexpected ways.
Makkai’s characters are unique and vibrant, drawing the reader into the heartbreak of losing loved ones and the chaos of the modern world.
Read reviews and interviews with the author:
- Cunningham, M. (25 Jun 2018) “Surviving AIDS, but at What Cost?” The New York Times. p.1
- East, B. (20 Aug 2018) “The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai.” The Guardian.
- Leon, R. (19 Jun 2018) “How Rebecca Makkai Wrote ‘The Great Believers’.” Chicago Review of Books.
Find The Great Believers in the Lincoln Park Haber Lounge. Call Number: 813.6 M2358g.
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