Lincoln in the Bardo

Far and away the best audio-book that I've ever listened to - in large part because it utilized more than 150 voices performing the text! As a huge fan of Saunders' short stories, I eagerly anticipated this novel. I began reading the print version of the novel, but had a hard time making progress through it. Saunders writes in an almost screenplay style which I found awkward to read.

The audio version solves this problem and greatly enhances the story. And the casting of the three main characters brilliantly brings out their personalities and the struggles each faces in the Bardo - the liminal space between “that other place” (this life) and whatever follows once death has been experienced. The expressive voices of Nick Offerman, David Sedaris and Saunders himself breath life in to the written words and make their characters unforgettable.

Listen to this audio-book and be prepared to laugh and cry as the author and actors bring life into the pathos of the president who lost his son and was losing his nation to the bloody death of the Civil War.