Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

> FAQ Home
> Tag: Rebecca Makkai

what happens to the torch-bearers, the candle holders, the vigil keepers?

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

by 2 Comments

There is so much that I want to tell you about this book, but I won’t. I took so many notes, and placed so many scraps of paper between pages, but I do not want to ruin a single realization for you. Rebecca Makkai has crafted an intricately woven tapestry that you have to witness in its full glory; I do not want to give you a magnifying glass before you have had a chance to first witness the enormity of the project. The Great Believers hits […]

“This disease has magnified all our mistakes.”

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

by Leave a Comment

I first saw The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai on NPR’s Best Books of 2018 List. I was convinced that it was worth reading by the glowing reviews and the many awards–it was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and National Book Award finalist. However, I wasn’t sure this was a book I would enjoy reading. The cover and the title don’t give much away. The blurb just said it was about 1980’s Chicago during the AIDS epidemic and the art scene in Paris in 2015. None of those topics […]

Another book-club-recommended-rip-your-heart-out read

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

by Leave a Comment

Neither this book nor Rebecca Makkai was on my radar but this is the March selection of the ANUW (Association for Northwestern University Women) book club and they have never steered me wrong before. This book club is the reason I read Hillbilly Elegy, Between the World and Me, the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, and Radium Girls (and if you haven’t read these, add them all to your “to read” pile! Anyhoo, I digress. The Great Believers was another in the long line of books […]

The During and After

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

by Leave a Comment

Happy Pride month, y’all! Our library has a wonderful little feature display of LGBT+ books, and go figure, the last thing I just returned ended up immediately on it, as well as this book here being something that could easily be featured on it. And a great book it is, in my opinion! If, perhaps, quite an emotional one, given the often difficult-but-important subject matter. And I wanted to read something like this right now as I parse through some complicated personal feelings regarding Pride […]

Episode 1-28: Time Keeps On Slipping, Slipping, Slipping

The October List, The Great Believers, Invitation to a Bonfire by Jeffery Deaver, Rebecca Makkai, Adrienne Celt

by Leave a Comment

Episode 1-28: Time Keeps On Slipping, Slipping, Slipping Wherein I review: 108. The October List by Jeffery Deaver 109. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai 110. Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt A mystery that starts with the last chapter and works its way backwards.  One book that jumps between 1985 and 2015 between Chicago and Paris while straddling the AIDS epidemic.  One book told through journal entries and letters from an author while reimagining the Nabokov love triangle.  I loved them all in their […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo