Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
This is a strange, but ultimately compelling and readable novel. It won the Man Booker literary prize in 2017, so you know it's good.
It's only peripherally about Abraham Lincoln and the death of his 11-year-old son, Willie, in 1862. Lincoln took the death hard, and for several days, visited his son's crypt. From this snippet of history, Saunders leaps off into the realm of fantasy, hope, longing, grief, and despair.
The bardo of the title is a Tibetan word for the transitional state between life and death. It can last days, weeks, even years. The being in such a state is unsure about his existence, and throughout the book refers to the coffin as a "sickbox." It's a way that Saunders can explain how a person reviews the life, and can sometimes see images of a past that did not exist and a potential future that never came.
The novel takes the form of citations from books written and imagined, and discussions by various spirits. Those spirits watch as Lincoln visits his son; they try to influence Lincoln's actions, and they attempt to encourage Willie to move on. A young boy in such a state is unusual, the spirits allow.
They seem drawn to Lincoln's sadness, and use it to examine their own lives -- full of lost loves, missed opportunities, squandered time, and prejudices and bigotry that continue to plague them in the bardo.
It's a difficult book to get into. But once you read through a couple of chapters, the book comes into focus, and the characters grow and develop as we learn about their lives.
It's only peripherally about Abraham Lincoln and the death of his 11-year-old son, Willie, in 1862. Lincoln took the death hard, and for several days, visited his son's crypt. From this snippet of history, Saunders leaps off into the realm of fantasy, hope, longing, grief, and despair.The bardo of the title is a Tibetan word for the transitional state between life and death. It can last days, weeks, even years. The being in such a state is unsure about his existence, and throughout the book refers to the coffin as a "sickbox." It's a way that Saunders can explain how a person reviews the life, and can sometimes see images of a past that did not exist and a potential future that never came.
The novel takes the form of citations from books written and imagined, and discussions by various spirits. Those spirits watch as Lincoln visits his son; they try to influence Lincoln's actions, and they attempt to encourage Willie to move on. A young boy in such a state is unusual, the spirits allow.
They seem drawn to Lincoln's sadness, and use it to examine their own lives -- full of lost loves, missed opportunities, squandered time, and prejudices and bigotry that continue to plague them in the bardo.
It's a difficult book to get into. But once you read through a couple of chapters, the book comes into focus, and the characters grow and develop as we learn about their lives.
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