Lincoln in the Bardo : a novel

It's me and I obviously missed something.

Not a good sign when, 20 pages into the novel, I had to google, “How does one read Lincoln in the Bardo?” and I came across a video by the author instructing me on how to. Once I got that understanding…off I went and started to read. Still a little uncertain that I wasn’t entirely getting it…I also downloaded a cheat sheet to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything. And I did miss a few things. Not an ideal way of reading a novel.

Two parts of the novel that I had issues with. 1. The structure. Is that what one calls it? Once I got it in my head that I am to read the “ghosts” part of the novel as I'm reading an experimental theatre show script and the quotes from historical books to provide context like I was reading a Ken Burns documentary….I was on a roll. 2. I really enjoyed the parts of the novel that were focused on Willie and Abraham Lincoln. I could have done without the rest.

My final thoughts…and I blame this on me being an engineer, I’m not particularly sophisticated when it comes to literature or art, in general. And it reminded me of the time I stood in front of a Jackson Pollock painting. I didn’t get it. I didn’t like it. But the arts community…..LOVED IT. With “Lincoln in the Bardo”, the literary community loved it. But I didn’t get it and I didn’t like it.

Bedtime is for two things:

1. Reading a nice book
2. Getting hit by waves of existential anxiety stoking your fears of death, mortality and oblivion until you feel like you're suffocating, you feel like you're in a too-hot bath so you have to get up except this isn't a too-hot bath you can jump out of. It's a hot bath you can't ever jump out of, so even as this wave of anxiety subsides, you know there's another one coming for you.

If this sounds like your idea of a good evening then, boy, is this the book for you.

Lincoln in the Bardo a beautiful book. It's witty and unexpected and there are passages (whole characters, actually) that absolutely took my breath away. Each character had their own story, their own voice, and the moment when they form a connection (staying vague because of spoilers), I was reading through floods of tears. At the same time, it took me almost a month to finish because it's also one of the most difficult things I've read (for reasons, see above), so I would approach it every night and ask myself was I mentally ready -- was I emotionally ready -- for this book tonight? Most nights, the answer was 'no'. But when I was ready, I was consuming the book in huge gulps, because it was all so lovely.