🌈RAINBOW WEEK🌈 💛💛Yellow💛💛 “And was friendship that different in the end from love? You took the possibility of sex out of it, and it was all about the moment anyway. Being here, right now, in someone’s life. Making room for someone in yours.” Framed in Chicago in 1985, Yale Tishman, an art gallery development director is handed an opportunity by longtime friend Fiona to curate a substantial collection of 1920’s art from Fiona’s great aunt Nora. As Yale’s career begins to show promise, the AIDS epidemic takes hold on his group of friends and lovers, threatening to steal all that is dear in his life. The Great Believers opens at the funeral of his good friend Nico, (also Fiona’s older brother) and alternating between the experiences of a group of gay men in the 1980’s, and the experiences of Fiona -13 years later, author Rebecca Makkai paints a picture of art, love, and the generation lost to the AIDS crisis. For me, this novel was a slow-moving tidal wave; it appeared uniform at first, until about 1/3 of the way into the story when it finally sucked me in. Aside from the heartbreaking storylines of young men losing their lives to disease, I liked how Makkai also shone a light on ‘the families we choose.’ So many young men and women suffer from estrangement, when first coming out to their families because their parents don’t understand them. I liked how Makkai showed the deep love that can exist from our chosen family consisting of friends, lovers, teachers, and siblings. On the flip side, the reader also gets to question when “love isn’t good enough” during Yale’s struggles with Charlie, and later during Fiona’s search for her own estranged daughter, Claire. My Rating: 4.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 📸Behind the Photo: I loved the incorporation of art, art collectors and a gallery in this story. This cover inspired me to dabble in some art making of my own. I used tape, cardstock, glue and an exacto knife to continue the cover art onto my yellow canvas. Check out my stories for the behind-the-scenes photos. ➡️QOTD: Want are some of your favorite book covers? . #pridemonth #thegreatbelievers #rebeccamakkai #historicalfiction #historicalnovel #booksandart