A review by morgob
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

4.0

I thought this book was really clever. It went by super fast, and it was a really good story. What really shocked me was the way it was written, as small quotes from the different characters, alternating with chapters of citations from many different sources. I can't imagine the research that was put into this. It had me hooked from the beginning and it was difficult to put down. For the chapters featuring the made up characters, I pictured them as narrating the whole night out loud, which was pretty entertaining. I know that is not probably what the author intended, but that's how I read it. Just some old ghosts talking out loud and narrating what others are saying. Besides that bit of rambling I just did, I loved how there were so many different characters, and I loved the world-building the author did. I didn't really get the full picture of what the world was like until very near the end, which was cool. It was like slowly putting pieces together throughout the whole story. I also loved that it was written almost in the format of a play, with the bits from each of the characters and then their name at the bottom. Overall, I found this a very enjoyable, and also heart-wrenching book. It definitely made me think about death some more, especially early death, before I grow old. This book was great to read. It was something outside of what I would normally read, and I love expanding my reading taste.