Lincoln in the Bardo

I've seen some folks claim this book felt like reading (or listening to) a school stage play, and while I find that comparison unkind, I can't deny there's a grain of truth to it. I'm inclined to say there's something rather Beckett-ish about it (though maybe there's a better comparison; I'm not well versed in live theater), but in my most recent relisten, I found that an endearing trait. The purple-ish prose of our myriad narrators works well if you imagine them as actors on a stage, speaking to the audience while the actions they describe are performed behind them. The ethereal (ha) quality of their descriptions, and even of the historical interludes (and isn't it telling that their perceptions of reality are no less varied than those of the ghosts) works so well as 'detached' narrators.

All in all, I loved this reread, and look forward to enticing my friends to join me in yet another.

George Saunders’ long awaited debut novel has been surrounded by hype, and winning the Man Booker prize only helped to launch this book. Saunders is probably best known for his short stories that often share a vibe similar to the television show Black Mirror. I even called his last collection Tenth of December “contemporary witty, with an element of darkness”. Even comparing it to two other great collections that were released about the same time, Black Vodka by Deborah Levy and Revenge by Yōko Ogawa. Lincoln in the Bardo tells the story of Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The Civil War has been raging for almost a year while the President’s eleven year old son lies in bed gravely ill. Despite the predictions of a full recovery, Willie dies and his body is laid to read in a Georgetown cemetery.

Blending historical data collected while researching this novel, George Saunders blends in a narrative of the afterlife and grief. While the title suggest that Willie Lincoln is in the bardo, the narrative seems to fit more with purgatory. In some schools of Buddhism, bardo is known as the state of existence between death and rebirth, while purgatory is a state of purification before heading to heaven. This distinction is interesting as the characters in this limbo often are unwilling to let go of their physical remains and complete their journey into the afterlife. These characters are often faced with deformities representative of their mortal failures. Saunders does consider himself a student of Nyingma Buddhism but my understanding of theology is primarily Christian, so I tend to interpret the writing with that thought in mind.

The other part of this novel is set around the President and his family as they grieve the loss of Willie. It is here we see a lot of the historical documentation come into play. This includes excerpts from newspapers and biographies. This serves to drive the narrative of grief but also highlights the inconsistencies found in history. What made this book so appealing was the confliction in Abraham Lincoln. While grieving the loss of his own son, he was still responsible for the loss of so many others because of the Civil War. While the American Civil war may have led to many good things, the effects of war were truly felt throughout Lincoln in the Bardo.

The novel is told through different speeches; a narrative that closely resembles a play. This is what makes the audiobook such an alluring option. The publisher put a lot of effort in producing, with a cast of 166 voice actors, including Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Rainn Wilson, Susan Sarandon and George Saunders. I was worried that between the narrative style and the large cast, this would be too much of a gimmick but I think Saunders and the audiobook production managed to never go overboard. However I can understand why this would not work for some readers.

The end result of Lincoln in the Bardo was a dark comedy, ghost story and while I was a little worried (because of all the hype) I am glad my book club made me read this novel. At the moment I prefer George Saunders’ short stories but I can only compare Lincoln in the Bardo with Tenth of December. It does make me curious to try CivilWarLand in Bad Decline or Pastoralia. I know in the future Saunders will continue to be surrounded by hype but I am still interested to see what is next for this author.

This review originally appeared on my blog; www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/contemporary/lincoln-bardo-george-saunders/

It is rare that I read something truly new, but George Saunders' cacophony of voices was certainly felt like something new. While it owes something to the form of many plays (the third act of Our Town came to mind) and to the cut-up technique of the Dadaists, neither really come close to what Saunders has done here.

Early on in the book, Saunders presents dozens of snippets ostensibly selected from historical texts describing a party thrown by Abraham and Mary Lincoln. Each of the snippets describes the moon on that night, and very few of them agree on this apparently simple fact. The message is clear: don't trust any of the narrators of this book. It's not that their lying, but memory is a tricky thing.

In fact, the entire book can be seen as an experiment—and a very successful one—in multiple unreliable narration. Such an experiment could easily have turned into a mess, but Saunders manages to turn this into a compelling, and very human story.

The heart of the story is the death of Abraham Lincoln's son, Willie and the time he spends between this world and the next. The residents of the cemetery try to encourage Willie to pass into the next world when Abraham Lincoln visits to have one last look at his son.

The story is handled with humor and grace. Like very little I've read the story explores the love between a father and son. It is an extraordinary piece of work.

Lincoln in the Bardo is a singular, unconventional read. I enjoyed it immensely. I had never heard the term bardo before, a word that in this novel refers to the time after one's death, but before...whatever comes next. Some characters in this story linger longer than others.

Saunders mixes poignant short stories, historical accounts, and intriguing dialog to create this unusual novel. There is sadness and humor, social commentary, and historical fact. The author tells the reader nothing, directly.

President Lincoln had to cope with many crises at the time of his son Willie's death, and this novel paints the picture of an introspective, philosophical man trying to make peace with one of the crushing events of his personal life, with the national tragedy taking place all around him. Everything, with and without, is so unstable.

The way this novel is presented takes some getting used to, in the beginning. Actually, it's downright confusing, but not for long. I would recommend this book to anyone.

I've never read anything by George Saunders before, but I will certainly seek out his stories in the future.