Lincoln In The Bardo

LINCOLN IN THE BARDO
by George Saunders

 Award: Booker Winner 2017

 Nomination: Carnegie Finalist 2018, Center For Fiction Longlist 2017, Dublin Finalist 2019, Goodreads Finalist 2017

 Date Read: March 7, 2020

 Lincoln In The Bardo is written in a unique style, with a multitude of voices pondering the significance of death. Based on a historical fact, President Lincoln loses his son Willie to an illness, Saunders uses this historical moment to convey the varying responses to the permanence of losing someone dear to you. Instead of wandering away after the funeral, Lincoln returns to the crypt to hold his boy again and again, unable to let go. These scenes are heart wrenching.

 Behind the scenes, the cemetery is made up of a host of characters, some good, some bad, that are forced to co-exist (yes, I understand the humor in this word choice) for eternity. These souls believe they are sent to this place to recuperate from their varying illnesses and must live in their "sick boxes." Willie's arrival in the cemetery sets the older order on its head and these souls rally to save him from the same miserable fate they are currently enduring.

 Willie eventually sets them free by stating the most obvious and glaring fact that everyone there is dead. By accepting this reality, many are able to move on to the next world, including Willie, leaving the misery and torment they had experienced.

 I loved the unique style Saunders has adopted here and enjoyed the contemplation of the choices that the living are presented with. When all factors in a human's life lead them to an inflection point, how can they not choose the choice they actually make? While we would all hope people choose to do the right thing, that is not always the case.

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