The first part of The Great Believers is narrated by Yale Tishman. Yale is a gay man with a Jewish background who has recently landed a development job at the Brigg Gallery at Northwestern University. At the time of the novel’s opening, AIDS is a new syndrome (set of symptoms) caused by HIV that people are just learning about (including the gay community).

The Great Believers opens with a life celebration for Nico, a young gay man who has recently died from AIDS. In an effort to sanitize his life story—and keep relatives from thinking about their son’s sexuality—Nico’s parents are holding a traditional funeral in a church. Thus, the majority of Nico’s close friends and loved ones—including his younger sister, Fiona—have defiantly chosen not to attend this funeral. Instead, they are attending a life celebration for Nico at the home of a gay photographer, Richard Campo.

The attendees of this celebration include Yale’s partner, a British man named Charlie Keene who runs a publication called Out Loud Chicago, Nico’s widowed partner, Terrence, a handsome PhD student named Teddy Naples, a dashing political activist named Asher Glass, and a flirty, light-hearted young actor named

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