#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZEThe “devastatingly moving” (People) first novel from the author of Tenth of December: a moving and original father-son story featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast of supporting characters, living and dead, historical and inventedNamed One of Paste’s Best Novels of the Decade • Named One of the Ten … One of Paste’s Best Novels of the Decade • Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post, USA Today, and Maureen Corrigan, NPR • One of Time’s Ten Best Novels of the Year • A New York Times Notable Book • One of O: The Oprah Magazine’s Best Books of the Year
February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold his boy’s body.
From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state—called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo—a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie’s soul.
Lincoln in the Bardo is an astonishing feat of imagination and a bold step forward from one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Formally daring, generous in spirit, deeply concerned with matters of the heart, it is a testament to fiction’s ability to speak honestly and powerfully to the things that really matter to us. Saunders has invented a thrilling new form that deploys a kaleidoscopic, theatrical panorama of voices to ask a timeless, profound question: How do we live and love when we know that everything we love must end?
“A luminous feat of generosity and humanism.”—Colson Whitehead, The New York Times Book Review
“A masterpiece.”—Zadie Smith
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I was expecting a much different and better book after reading reviews by other readers. I was disappointed.
A look at the past United States through original thought.
this is a sort of new style. I can’t describe it, but it’s fascinating. But you should not consider an audio book. It’s so different, so absorbing and so good that as soon as I finished it, I began it again!
This book is unique and often needs directions on how to read and understand what is happening. It stretches the average reader and may be too difficult for the masses unless you undrstand the author’s style, setting, and characters. Once these are understood, the brilliance of the book is more appreciated. If you are looking for an average read, this is not the book to select. If you enjoy a stretch and understand the background, you will enjoy this book.
This was unlike any book I’ve ever read. Told by a multitude of characters, all of them deceased, it’s the story of Abe Lincoln’s young son who died of an illness and is stuck in the “bardo”, a place sort of in-between death and the afterlife. The characters who tell the story are also in the bardo. They inhabit the cemetery where the young Lincoln is entombed. Knowing that children who don’t cross over right away are doomed to a terrible fate, they work to help the child into the next form of existence. It is hard to explain this book, but fabulous to read.
This is a beautiful and moving book about Lincoln visiting the cemetery at night after his young son dies. The spirits of people unable, or unwilling, to move on watch him and discuss his presence there. Different but interesting.
This book is like nothing you’ve ever read before. A masterpiece, in my opinion.
This highly original novel by George Saunders is sure to become a classic of American literature. It is one of the finest novels by an American author of the 21st century.
Abraham Lincoln’s son Wilie has died and the little boy is trapped in a strange world of spirits trapped between earth and heaven–or hell. Lincoln visits the cemetery daily, and becomes aware of his son’s condition. The rest is chillingly and wonderfully depicted by Saunders.
A must read for anyone who loves great writing.
It’s a very original style of writing. When I started reading it I was a little confused about the style. It is written similarly to a play. It is a wonderful original story about Abraham Lincoln’s visit to the cemetary shortly after his son Willie died during the Civil War. One of the top two books I read in 2017.
This is certainly a unique book. The story is about the death of Willie Lincoln, the son of Abraham Lincoln. The “bardo” refers to the state of existence between physical death and the next stage (whatever that may be). The characters tell the story in short snippets. Excerpts of original historical writings are interspersed. This is artfully done. The story is sad, ghastly and poignant.
I did however, find it difficult to understand at times, hence 4/5 stars.
Unique experimental novel, both whimsical and tragic.
This book is unique. I don’t recall any other book that has combined magical realism and historical references! The characters are riveting and tell the story of the time’s history. The story is a heartbreaking and timeless meditation on the human condition, attachment to this life and how each of us face our death. It affected me deeply.
This is one of the most creative, imaginative, quirky and deliciously interesting books I have read in a long time. Dubbed as an ‘experimental novel’ this book will leave you flabbergasted and delighted. Note: It is helpful to look up the definition of Bardo prior to reading. I adored this book.
The writing was excellent. You didn’t want to
Put it down because it was so much better than
Anything you’d read in ages that you just wanted to be sure he could sustain it. And it’s a book you can read in one sitting. It gives a new glimpse at a moment in history from a very
Different perspective – both more real and magical at the same time. I can not recommend this book strongly enough.
An incredible feat of the imagination that uses a huge array of sources to put the reader squarely in the terrible times when the nation was torn apart by Civil War and Lincoln’s family was torn apart by the death of his son Willie. Be prepared to struggle a bit with the concept and organization at first, but then to be totally absorbed.
This book is not like anything I’ve ever read. Because there are so many characters, it might take a few chapters for the book to grab you, but once it does it does not let go. Highly recommended.
Totally unique, will have you thinking about it for weeks.
The first time I read this book, parts of it were very confusing. Then I read it again, and really enjoyed it. I didn’t understand the premise the first time around, but once I did, it was fun.
I listened to the unabridged audio of this book. I heartily recommend this manner of “reading” the book. The many voices of the characters are brought alive by a worthy cast of actors. It felt like a radio play and was much easier to follow the narrative this way. It was creative, original and even humorous in places. While I still had some questions after I finished, I logged onto Goodreads and found reviews by people who had the same questions and supplied answers – at least in their own view.
I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away. Saunders has taken a moment in history, not an inconsequential one, but one that not a lot has been written about at length, and created such a story. That’s all, ha ha ha, just read it. I just can’t imagine anyone not liking this easy read, which is so funny and tongue in cheek at times, that I laughed out loud, and so poignant at other times. It is the first time I have read anything by him, but it sure won’t be the last. Enjoy!