The Great Believers (by Rebecca Makkai)
I finally found a book in this year's tournament that I loved maybe even more than My Sister the Serial Killer! Unfortunately, like the outstanding My Year of Rest and Relaxation, it didn't make the shortlist. What the hell is up with this year's tourney!?! I started The Great Believers at the same time as the shortlisted The Mars Room, which I gave up about 40% in. But this one I couldn't put down.
It's a story told halfway in the 1980s, about a group of gay friends in Chicago who are beginning to die, one by one, from AIDS. The other half is the story of Fiona, the sister of one of the dead boys, searching in Paris for her daughter in 2015.
My friend Wendy said that it reminded her of A Little Life, which was my thought exactly. Here's what I sent her in an email earlier today:
Completely agree about A Little Life. In fact I wished the whole book was set in the 1980s timeline since that was by far my favorite and was most Little Life-y. It also reminds me of that essay pointing out how Little Life works as an AIDS epidemic allegory. No wonder it feels similar!
Side note: I recently got the chance to read through a box of letters sent to my biological mom in the 1970s. Gave me a window into her friendships with a huge circle of gay men. One was writing from San Francisco, where he had just moved, and was so happy to feel part of a community that accepted him for the first time. Of course, her entire circle mostly died of AIDS in the 80s. She was basically the Fiona.
Loved this novel and really enjoyed it. Now that I've given up on The Mars Room I'm going to start on my pick to win the entire Tournament of Books, the buzzy and first-seeded Washington Black. Cross your fingers for me.
It's a story told halfway in the 1980s, about a group of gay friends in Chicago who are beginning to die, one by one, from AIDS. The other half is the story of Fiona, the sister of one of the dead boys, searching in Paris for her daughter in 2015.
My friend Wendy said that it reminded her of A Little Life, which was my thought exactly. Here's what I sent her in an email earlier today:
Completely agree about A Little Life. In fact I wished the whole book was set in the 1980s timeline since that was by far my favorite and was most Little Life-y. It also reminds me of that essay pointing out how Little Life works as an AIDS epidemic allegory. No wonder it feels similar!
Side note: I recently got the chance to read through a box of letters sent to my biological mom in the 1970s. Gave me a window into her friendships with a huge circle of gay men. One was writing from San Francisco, where he had just moved, and was so happy to feel part of a community that accepted him for the first time. Of course, her entire circle mostly died of AIDS in the 80s. She was basically the Fiona.
Loved this novel and really enjoyed it. Now that I've given up on The Mars Room I'm going to start on my pick to win the entire Tournament of Books, the buzzy and first-seeded Washington Black. Cross your fingers for me.
posted by mo pie at 2:55 PM
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