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A review by shimmery
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
4.0
Set over one night in 1862, Lincoln in the Bardo sees the president come to the graveyard after dark to visit the tomb of his recently deceased son. Grabbing the attention of crowds of ghosts, Lincoln is surrounded by a cacophony of testimonies and frantic activity that he cannot hear or see.
The form of the book makes the novel feel almost like a play - the narrative is divided up and attributed to a whole gaggle of different characters which are named when their account ends. The parts of the book that describe the Lincoln household have had these sections of narrative taken from contemporary historical sources; these are mixed in with those of Saunders' own invention which are only distinguishable with further research. The parts set in the graveyard are equally sectioned up but all accounts are fictional: these are at the heart of the book as the characters must choose whether to stay in this liminal state or move on to an unknown afterlife.
When I was describing this chopping and changing technique to someone I was asked: what's the point?
It's a good question. I think most would agree it's an interesting idea - at least a new one - but how does it make itself more than a gimmick? For one thing, I think it commands more attention, it totally disrupts the way you would normally read a book. Having all the different voices makes you feel almost as if you are in the middle of a crowd jostling to hear the story - it's so different from sitting down with one or a few different narrators, the perspective changes often every few sentences resulting in an overarching perspective that is like 3rd person in its knowledge but a lot more engaging.
It also feels appropriate for the subject matter: just as the ghosts are able to step in to the body of Lincoln and hear his thoughts, so we are able to step in to each ghost and hear theirs.
It's a sad story told in a fun and playful way, and certainly a new experience of reading. It's hard to talk about anything other than how it is told, the story relies on that so much. But the story does more than just have fun being passed around, it examines life and what is important in the end.
The form of the book makes the novel feel almost like a play - the narrative is divided up and attributed to a whole gaggle of different characters which are named when their account ends. The parts of the book that describe the Lincoln household have had these sections of narrative taken from contemporary historical sources; these are mixed in with those of Saunders' own invention which are only distinguishable with further research. The parts set in the graveyard are equally sectioned up but all accounts are fictional: these are at the heart of the book as the characters must choose whether to stay in this liminal state or move on to an unknown afterlife.
When I was describing this chopping and changing technique to someone I was asked: what's the point?
It's a good question. I think most would agree it's an interesting idea - at least a new one - but how does it make itself more than a gimmick? For one thing, I think it commands more attention, it totally disrupts the way you would normally read a book. Having all the different voices makes you feel almost as if you are in the middle of a crowd jostling to hear the story - it's so different from sitting down with one or a few different narrators, the perspective changes often every few sentences resulting in an overarching perspective that is like 3rd person in its knowledge but a lot more engaging.
It also feels appropriate for the subject matter: just as the ghosts are able to step in to the body of Lincoln and hear his thoughts, so we are able to step in to each ghost and hear theirs.
It's a sad story told in a fun and playful way, and certainly a new experience of reading. It's hard to talk about anything other than how it is told, the story relies on that so much. But the story does more than just have fun being passed around, it examines life and what is important in the end.