Lincoln in the Bardo
Ratings242
Average rating3.9
I listened to this. Stellar performances of this mesmerizing, beautiful, challenging and moving book. Loved it and will listen to it again soon
Lincoln in the Bardo was an interesting exploration of Lincoln’s evolution to an abolitionist during the eatly days of his presidency through his interaction with the residents of the bardo or purgatory or whatever you might want to call it, during one very eventful night for the residents of that portion of the afterlife. The narrative contains mostly short snippets from the three main characters, with some color added in by the other denizens of the afterlife waystation. The tale is a bit scatalogical (in the general sense, not in the excretory sense) and may offend readers with a delicate sensibilty. It was a quick, fun read, very good, but didn’t live up to all the hype for this reader. Still, I am happy that I read it and portions of its theology will remain with me for some time.
I WANTED to like this book a lot more than I did. I loved the parts that were actually about Lincoln grieving for his son. Those parts were tender and heart-wrenching. I also enjoyed the quotes from people there as witnesses; although, I don't like that some were real and some fictitious (pick a lane). As an audiobook, all of the narrators were extremely talented, but it was way too hard to follow and seemed incredibly disjointed. Some parts seemed to be written in a shock-jock sort of way, which seemed weird to me.
I kind of hated it. I don't mean to be a pearl clutcher here, but I did feel it was in bad taste to make the suffering and subsequent death of a little boy (albeit a boy looooong dead) into such a weirdly perverse story. It's grotesque to me. I nearly gave up on it at page 30 because I had no clue still what was going on and the narrative style never grew on me. I get that the afflictions of the bardo dwellers are symbolic of the personal limbos they faced, but I still just didn't connect with it.
Lincoln in the Bardo is an extremely unique piece of literature. It combines historical accounts of Lincoln during his time grieving his son Willie, age 11, with a fictional narrative about ghosts attempting to help Willie pass on from this mortal world. I found the story incredibly engaging and heartfelt, often contemplating how I would feel if I were to awaken in that Washington cemetery post-mortem. Is infinite time a blessing or a curse– forced to reflect on all of the legitimate time we were afforded? Is any afterlife a sham? If judgement is based on what actions we took as we lived, then what point is there to purgatory at all? There is much to consider when reading, and these moral quandaries kept me wanting more. While reading I often found myself reminded of the much more family friendly [b:The Graveyard Book 2213661 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531295292l/2213661.SY75.jpg 2219449] by [a:Neil Gaiman 1221698 Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg]– where a vivacious young boy is raised and mentored by the undead residents of a nearby graveyard (a variation on [a:Rudyard Kipling 6989 Rudyard Kipling https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1550677494p2/6989.jpg]'s [b:The Jungle Book 77270 The Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873594l/77270.SY75.jpg 17441265]). Both books explore the hopeless side of attempting to live on after breathing your last breath. Much other media shows us how terrified people should be of undead spirits, when it's very possible that the spirits themselves are unhappy upon being forced to reflect on their unresolved lives. While I loved the story and themes, much could be said about the formatting and writing style of the book. I can appreciate wanting to create something unique, but Saunders has chosen to write in a style that reads unlike anything else I have encountered and is overall difficult to keep track of at times. The audiobook's cast of 166 voices makes it clear there are many characters, but to me also makes it clear the book would have worked well in a stage play format. Rather than hear each character speak in their voice, with an additional narrator providing outside context, we constantly change perspectives between characters and hear their accounts of the scene, including the dialogue of other characters in the same scene. There are also the shifting perspectives of historical accounts that provide context to the scene, which I do think work for the story, but the narrative sections become incredibly complicated as the book progresses. Overall, I think the story and historical context contained within the pages is extremely worth reading, but the way in which the story is delivered makes it difficult to fully appreciate. I would love to see this story adapted to an0ther format, possibly a stage play or television series. The book itself is very successful, but I think it should be even more widely appreciated.
George Saunders is my favorite author. Once you get the hang of the format it reads quickly. If empathy annoys you you may not like it, but that's Saunders (thankfully, he doesn't ask us to empathize with everybody)
Really a 4.5, rounded down. I usually do not go in at all for books with no plot. And I don't think I could have finished this book if I wasn't reading and listening at the same time. For the graveyard scenes, I would read and listen at the same time. The narration adds a lot to these sections. For the historical part, I would turn the narration off and just read those parts. The narration was really distracting there. Felt very Neil Gaiman to me. But overall it was like nothing I have ever read before. I think I will think about it quite a bit.
The miraculous historical-fantasy-fiction lovechild of David Grann and Hayao Miyazaki, perfected by Saunders' trademark wit.
It's quite possible that I'm just too dumb to really enjoy this book.
Certainly point for creativity and inlay of historical sources, but I spent a whole lot of time confused by just what the heck was happening here. By the end, I could get most of what was happening, but it took effort on my behalf.
4.7555
i don't know how someone could conceive something this absurd but saunders pulls it off so incredibly well. was not expecting to feel as stirred by this book as i did. what a weird, bizzarro read. clap clap
The Audio version was a small Tour de Force that perhaps deserved a higher rating than my three stars. I mean I did like it but I did not fall in love with this mix of Gaimanish Graveyard tales, with history titbits. I am pretty sure I failed the book and not vice versa.
About the states of acceptance, and realization, reluctance, and resistance, ‘Lincoln in the Bardo' is a streams-of-consciousness tale that is about the points of view which often get fiercely ignored once they cease being ‘around'; and attempts to implore: how could a form or the formless stop simply being.
It's weird how ghost stories can be so hit-or-miss. Why did [b:The Graveyard Book 2213661 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531295292l/2213661.SY75.jpg 2219449] work for me but not this one, despite so many similar elements (child in graveyard, protective ghosts, themes of compassion and reflection)? Part of it is the narrative style, which I found tedious; but I think what annoyed me most is the triteness of the backdrop. The ghosts here are uninteresting extensions of their mortal selves, with the same appetites and moods despite not having bodies or pulses or vagus nerves or any of the countless physical aspects of consciousness. The gimmick is (very minor spoiler) that they're in denial about being dead, and once they accept their death, poof, they disappear, presumably moving on to some ultimate celestial reward... but nope, that just seems silly to me. It smacks of wishful thinking, the same sort of dullness that makes some people believe in heaven and afterlife. And the obvious problem with the poof thing, of course, is: WTF? Just how many stages are there? Is it just turtles all the way down? The question of consciousness is a truly mind-boggling one; this sort of treatment is unsatisfying.The second half is better than the first. There were parts I loved, in particular, the way Saunders depicts Lincoln's grief over his son's death and over the senseless suffering of war, ... oof. Unique and effective. The contrasting descriptions of his “ugliness.” I find myself with a much greater appreciation for Lincoln as a person and as President.
Lovely but a bit hard to follow at times. A story told almost entirely in dialogue.
This is going to be more a review of the audiobook than anything else.
This thing was all over the place for me. There are scenes/ideas/characters in here that I loved, but other parts that felt a bit aimless.
The huge cast of recognizable actors is great and helps to keep the multitude of characters distinct, but I still often had a hard time focusing on what was going on. Many chapters consist of quotes from historical accounts (real and fictitious) complete with citations, that are handled fairly well here, but still feel jarring in audio as something that I would naturally skim over when reading.
This might actually be something I try reading again later because I think it will be an entirely different experience.
Once you get a feel for the structure, it's really moving and well done.
(Not a review; Just musings)
This is the most amazing book I've read this year, or maybe even for several years. I wish I'd read it sooner. It's funny, and sad; tragic and strangely hopeful. A story of grief, loss, and ultimately, of the fragility and beauty of life.
Perhaps one of my favorite books that I've read in a very, very long time.
The characters are delightful in the same sort of way that peripheral characters are in Twin Peaks, where you just want to keep visiting with them and watching their strange lives unfold.
The tale of Willie and his father was compelling, but the obvious draw was the other characters and them joking around while trying to race away from that sense of dread that has been hanging over them for so long. They know the truth, deep down, they just don't want to face it yet.
This is a book that you read & then put down, a while later pick it up & read some more. Finally on a winters night you are determined to finish it & it feels like the last 100 miles of a long road trip - you are happy that you did it, but recognize the energy of the drive outweighed the joy of the vacation.
“Todo fue real; inconcebiblemente real, infinitamente amado.Todas estas y otras cosas empezaron siendo nada, algo latente en el seno de un enorme caldo de energía, pero luego les pusimos nombre y las amamos y de esa forma las hicimos aparecer.Y ahora tenemos que perderlas.”
Este libro al igual que El Jilguero es de esos libros que los tengo y los quiero empezar enseguida y por alguna razón lo voy posponiendo, pero que al empezar a leer a las pocas páginas me doy cuenta que será un libro que me gustará. El Jilguero lo tuve casi tres años y este lo empecé porque se le acabo la batería al Kindle y ya no lo puede soltar.
Me parece un libro conmovedor, lleno de personajes entrañables, y además divertido.
Había escuchado mucho del estilo en que está narrado, que algunos les gusta y otros lo odian. No es complicado, solo hay que leer con atención los primeros capítulos (que son bastante cortos) hasta que se agarre bien el modo.
La novela transcurre a lo largo de una noche, después de la muerte de William Lincoln, cuando toda la gente se ha marchado del cementerio. Está narrada por diversos personajes que se encuentran en el bardo, que según el budismo significa “estado intermedio”, es un estado entre la vida y la muerte.
George Saunders comenta que desde que escucho la historia de como el presidente Abraham Lincoln visitó la tumba de su hijo en varias ocasiones durante la noche de su entierro, la imagen de él cargando a su hijo muerto lo acompaño durante años. Hasta que finalmente llegó el momento adecuado para escribir sobre el tema. Y el libro va mucho mas allá de esta historia.
Los diferentes personajes que se encuentran en el cementerio incluido Willie van narrando a pequeños trozos la historia. Y es que no es común que los niños pequeños se queden en este estado, por lo que es importante ayudarlo a seguir su camino; sin embargo se tendrán que enfrentar ellos mismos con sus temores en el camino.
Me ha parecido una historia preciosa. Tal vez no a todo el mundo le guste, pero no deja indiferente.
“...que se encuentre en un lugar luminoso, libre de sufrimiento, resplandeciendo en una nueva fase de la vida.”
*3.5 stars. This book was so odd and engaging. The bits about Lincoln were the highlight for me, as well as some of the rendering of the shadowy, in-between world of the Bardo, but some of the cast of characters were just too strange and inconsequential to the narrative. I was intrigued and annoyed by them in turns. Still, an inventive novel about a fascinating and terrible moment in presidential history and one that I overall enjoyed reading.