69 pages • 2 hours read
The Great Believers
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Great Believers (2018) is the fourth novel by Chicago-based writer Rebecca Makkai. The novel alternates between the stories of a group of friends—most of them gay men diagnosed with AIDS—in Chicago during the mid-80s to the early 90s—and the story of a woman searching for her estranged daughter in Paris, 30 years later. The Great Believers won several awards, including the ALA Carnegie Medal, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, ALA Stonewall Award, and the Chicago Review of Books Award. The novel was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
Other work by this author includes I Have Some Questions for You.
This guide features the 2019 Penguin Books edition.
Content Warning: The source material and this guide include instances and discussions of anti-gay prejudice and police brutality.
Plot Summary
The Great Believers alternates between the narrative of Yale Tishman—a gay man living in Chicago in 1985—and Yale’s friend, Fiona Marcus, who reflects on her memories of Yale and his friends 30 years later. The novel begins on the day of Fiona’s brother Nico’s funeral. Nico has recently died from AIDS. Though Nico’s family holds a traditional funeral at a church, most of the people closest to him—including Fiona—hold their own life celebration at the home of gay photographer Unlock all 69 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
