Lincoln in the Bardo

by Saunders, George
ISBN: 9780812985405
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Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE

The "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 invented

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

  • Format: TradePaperback
  • Author: Saunders, George
  • ISBN: 9780812985405
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 8.30 x 1.00
  • Number Of Pages: 368
  • Publication Year: 2018

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  • A unique historical and fantastical experience

    Hannah B. - 1 year 11 months ago

    After President Lincoln's son Willie passed away, it is historically documented that the president spent a significant amount of time at Willie's grave. George Saunders took this piece of historical knowledge and ran with it in a beautiful and entirely unique way. Part historical fiction (with real and make believe annotations), and part fantastical retelling of the afterlife. Often abrasive characters from all walks of life, are stuck together in limbo, choosing to struggle through a mysterious earth with unnatural bodies for fear of moving on to their ultimate destination. Gritty, thought-provoking, and overall lovely.

    HPB Staff Review

  • George Saunders is a national treasure!

    Cole R. - 3 years 8 months ago

    George Saunders is one of my favorite voices in American letters. He sometimes strikes me the same way James Baldwin does in that when I read him I often feel that no one has expressed that particular sentiment so clearly and poetically before. He is at once blisteringly funny, poignant, and thoughtful. I love the way he incorporates immense and eternal ideas with utter humility and precision. This particular book would qualify as experimental fiction, I think, so be prepared. It is not the straightforward novel that you find in most contemporary fiction, but if you are willing to give yourself over to its odd rhythms and ambitious conceit you will be richly rewarded.

    HPB Staff Review

  • Touching and Bizarre Novel of the Afterlife

    Molly M. - 4 years 5 months ago

    This experimental novel tells the story of Abraham Lincoln coming to terms with the death of his son, Willie, from the perspectives of the diverse group of ghosts that Willie finds himself sharing a very unusual afterlife with. The longer the spirits cling to the early American world of the living, the less they resemble the people they were in life, as their mental states alter their physical forms. Each character's story is compelling and sad, yet the absurdity of the ghosts adds the humor necessary to keep a novel about mortality from becoming dismal or depressing. The novel won the Man Booker prize in 2017. The audiobook, which won the 2018 Audie award for Audiobook of the Year, features an absolutely amazing cast of 166 narrators, including Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, and the author himself. Hearing Offerman and Sedaris read the first chapter, I was immediately hooked, and the full cast did not disappoint. If you're on the fence about audiobooks, this one will change your mind.

    HPB Staff Review

  • Beautiful and Unique

    Kristen B. - 5 years 9 months ago

    President Lincolns son, Willie, passes away from an illness, but neither of them can move on. Willie is stuck in a strange sort of purgatory, unable to pass over completely as his father mourns his death by visiting his crypt. We see and hear most of this from the chorus of voices that are stuck in this in-between state, or bardo, with Willie. This story absolutely transfixed me. From the first page, I was drawn in and could not put it down until I had wept over the last page. Its so unique, both in the actual story and how it is told. I highly recommend this for lovers of historical literature. I dont reread many books, but this story is so rich and full, Im likely to read it again to see what I missed the first time!

    HPB Staff Review