The Great Believers
| Author | Rebecca Makkai |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date | June 4, 2018 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 421 |
| Awards | LAT Book Prize—Fiction (2018) Andrew Carnegie Medal—Fiction (2019) Stonewall Book Award—Fiction (2019) |
| ISBN | 978-0735223523 |
The Great Believers is a historical fiction novel by American writer Rebecca Makkai published on June 4, 2018 by Viking Press.
The novel follows two storylines in alternating chapters. The first, set in 1980s and '90s Chicago, centers on Yale Tishman, an art gallery acquisitions manager living in Boystown. As he navigates a career-defining deal, the largely gay male community to which he belongs crumbles around him due to the devastation of the AIDS epidemic. The second plotline takes place in Paris in 2015. It follows Fiona Marcus, a secondary character from the first storyline, as she searches for her estranged adult daughter and reckons with the lasting impact that the AIDS epidemic has had on her life.
The book was an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction winner, National Book Award for Fiction finalist, Stonewall Book Award winner, and Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist.