Book Review: "The Great Believers" by Rebecca Makkai

I was looking for a book about the AIDS crisis and this one was recommended to me by Amazon. The Great Believers ties two time frames together: one in 1985 in Chicago and the other in 2015 in Paris. I found the writing to be not overly immersive that it became sentimental for sentimental's sake, but not too removed to make me think whereabouts I stood. The author offers us this balance whilst keeping us in the mix of both worlds with all the feelings of grief and fear that the characters also experience. Honestly, if you haven't read this book already then I would say you probably want to pick it up. It's a heartbreaking experience and quite an important read if you really want to learn want certain people went through at a time where their way of life was legal, but still publicly condemned.

The Chicago storyline follows Yale Tishman, an art gallery director who is grappling with how AIDS is devastating the gay community and making gay men victims of hate even more than they already were at the time. In Paris, Fiona is trying to find her estranged daughter whilst also confronting past secrets that she has locked away, traumas she will not share. Honestly, I thought that these two characters were so well-written, you cannot convince me that I don't know them. Even though we don't get masses of backstory, we get facts and ideas, beliefs and memories worked into the story almost organically. We can definitely see that the writer has a great talent for designing characters who mean something to the reader despite being detached from us.

The AIDS crisis is no doubt a catastrophe when it comes to the progress for acceptance for the gay community, the fear and stigma comes right back up to the surface and we see Yale Tishman experience all of it. We also see him experience extreme grief - but I won't say too much about that for it is quite important to the plot. The author also seems to look at how the government and how officials were practically indifferent to what was happening, as if the gay community weren't people like everyone else.

It's quite shocking and very upsetting to be honest because this would actually make the crisis a lot worse since the government are not addressing it at all. There is also this deep sense of activism in these characters who wish to be recognised as people, but are reduced in the public eye. I felt like I was getting a bit of a history lesson here because of the way in which the author deals with the realities of the crisis. It wasn't always as clear as a pamphlet in the post warning people about illnesses - this stuff was actually hidden and purposefully left unaddressed.

But apart from illness and stigma as physical and societal scars, the author also deals with the emotional and psychological scars felt by Fiona in 2015 in Paris. As she is going to find her daughter, who has joined a cult - she seeks some sort of redemption for herself. She does not address any past trauma to begin with and as we see her journey to reconnect with her daughter, we notice that there is a lot of psychological scarring there.

I don't want to say too much and give away some really important plot points, but there is a lot. One thing we learn is that even though we have one event that has caused trauma, the trauma itself extends into every facet of the person's life, even to their family. This is why we have this strained character on the brink of an emotional breakdown, or an emotional resilience. You're going to have to read it to find out which.

The novel deals with acts against erasure. Fiona is purposefully remembering and reflecting on things from the past, moments she knows she cannot change and yet she knows she would like to if she could. This definitely involves her role in the 1980s AIDS epidemic scene, though the fragments of those memories have hints of her daughter and the shared trauma within them.

She reflects on how she can get well from these without having to hide them away or simply believe they are not there. The same goes for Yale who, in his work, addresses the past head-on and chooses not to erase these silenced voices for the sake or comfort of other people. It is quite fitting therefore, that he works in an art gallery because if art is comfortable, we are probably doing it wrong.

The ending to the book is absolutely destructive. I was really quite emotional and if you don't want to actually cry your eyes out, then this one probably isn't for you.

All in all, I thought this book was incredible - the writing definitely enhances every single emotion in the story and you really get to feel the underlying grief and pain of the characters. It is through these painful moments that these characters seem to show the reader who they actually are and thus, we come out feeling as though we know them like real people. The author has done something quite extraordinary.