Reviews

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

jfaberrit's review against another edition

5.0

This is a beautiful book, kind of staggeringly brilliant in its way, clearly one of the best of the year, or any year. The audiobook, it is worth noting, may have a cast of 166 readers, but stands as the finest production I've ever heard largely because of two, Nick Offerman and David Sedaris, whose counterpoint approach is essentially perfect, as well as a handful of particularly good supporting roles -- Bill Hader and Megan Mullally's certainly the most memorable. As for the novel itself, what starts as a historical novel very quickly turns into one about history and loss, freedom and suffering, showing off the timelessness of its themes. Saunders can definitely turn a phrase -- "the bonechilling firesound of the matter-light blooming phenomenon" -- and the more Buddhist-oriented passages are basically poetry. To the extent there is a weakness, it is the one character who doesn't contribute in the first president, Abraham Lincoln himself. Saunders does a good job with his sadness, his description, and his place in history, but I'm not quite sure he ever really captures his voice. A final historical and faux-historical passage right before the nearly perfect closing is the only step that felt a bit false, as he slid from the mysteries of Lincoln towards those of life and death. Other than that, this was a nearly perfect story of the cycle of life.

jameshousworth's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

janeleng's review against another edition

5.0

Melancholic, ethereal, lyrical. I was choked up many times in appreciation of life and love and in fear of death.

jalb's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

ssunier's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

vermarktbar's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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? N/A

4.0

itsdeenlee's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

soderick's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

teresa's review against another edition

sad

The odd structure, almost like a play with an enormous number of cast members, makes it hard to follow the story and distinguish the settings and characters interacting in each scene. It doesn’t help that having so many characters makes it hard to tell them apart and recall their backstories meaning you’re don’t end up connecting to the story. I thought the excerpts from fictional accounts of the events a pretty cunning idea. It goes to show that everyone has very different perspectives even when witnessing the same event simultaneously. 

andrewspink's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I understand why this book won prizes, but nevertheless, this was not a book for me. I was bored and had to push myself to get to the end. The style of writing with all those little quotes irritated me. The book had little in the way of a plot, more of a setting, and the characters didn't seem well developed.