Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

12 reviews

mamatoca's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The structure of this book is unusual, but once you settle in, there are both touching and hilarious moments as each of these characters struggle with grief and mortality.

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lilifane's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book wasn't for me and I can't really pinpoint why because there are several aspects of it that I really liked/found interesting.

I really liked the setting and the idea of the book. The way it is told is really unique, and I appreciated that. 
The book starts with the death of 11-year-old Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son. And we get chapters full of accounts from contemporary witnesses regarding the death and Lincoln's reaction to it. I liked these chapters, they helped me a lot to get immersed into that time period. But funnily they also reminded me of my assignments at university where I basically copied and arranged a lot of quotes and then wrote my essay around them. Saunders doesn't add anything to the quotes he uses, though, just strings them together. Sometimes they repeat the same thing over and over again. But I actually liked that. 
And then we have the chapters that take place at the cemetery at night. And we learn that the ghosts of the dead actually wander around the premises. They can see and interact with each other, but not with the living. (Didn't expect this at all when I read the book on Halloween weekend. :D ) 
And although I liked this idea, I really didn't care for the things these ghost said or did most of the time. I think, I only cared for the 2-3 main narrators, but I skimmed through the rest. And there was a lot to skim. 

I do think grief, the need to cling to life and the fear of letting go were depicted really well in the book, but maybe the time period wasn't for me. 

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