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Sunday, October 22, 2017

Lincoln in the Bardo by Gerorge Saunders (2017 Booker Prize Winner)




I offer my great thanks to Max u for providing me with an Amazon Gift Card that allowed me to read this book.  

Winner of the 2017 Booker Prize 

“Used loosely, "bardo" is the state of existence intermediate between two lives on earth. According to Tibetan tradition, after death and before one's next birth, when one's consciousness is not connected with a physical body, one experiences a variety of phenomena. These usually follow a particular sequence of degeneration from, just after death, the clearest experiences of reality of which one is spiritually capable, and then proceeding to terrifying hallucinations that arise from the impulses of one's previous unskillful”. From Wikipedia 

I was very excited when I began reading Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, his debut novel and the 2017 Booker Prize Winning novel.  I knew it was being proclaimed in the literary press as a work of great originality. Here are a few of the reactions:

“A masterpiece” –  Zadie Smith, New York Times

An incredible work of art. Deeply moral, heartfelt, hilarious, and wildly imaginative” –  Buzzfeed

“A strange and haunting novel – his highly anticipated first, after decades of short-story wizardry – about the effect the dead have on the living, and the living on the dead” –  Economist

“The story canters along ... The writing constantly surprises” –  Mail on Sunday

Lincoln in the Bardo has great matters on its mind: freedom and slavery, the spirit and the body. But it is, finally, “about” Abraham Lincoln, that great spectral presence in a whole subgenre of American fiction” –  New Yorker

The novel takes place largely in the cemetery where President Abraham Lincoln’s eleven year old son Willie was recently buried.  The novel is only peripherally about Lincoln but we can see the incredible strength and wisdom of Lincoln, leading the nation during the terrible civil war years while dealing with the death of his son and the mental illness of his wife.  “Bardo” is a concept derived from Tibetan Buddhism which refers to a kind of limbo like state in which the recently deceased linger until they are prepared for the next step.  The metaphysical aspects of this are left largely unexplained, as it should be. 

At first the souls in the cemetery do not realise they are dead.  Saunders does a simply brilliant job creating a community of highly individualistic voices in the cemetery.  Somehow Saunders has produced a wonderful picture of the state of American society through all these voices.  He also makes very creative use of sources on the era, some real, some who knows.  His depiction of the life of a slave woman, in the Bardo but not buried too  near the whites was a true master work, in just two pages he brings vividly to life the horror story that was American slavery.  Just this alone makes the book a great experience.

There are many more wonders in Lincoln on the Bardo than I can describe.  In a way, it forces the reader to ponder the conduct of Lincoln through profound grief and a horrible near  nation destroying war versus the conduct of the current president, thrown into a frenzy by the pettiest things.  

All lovers of the novel should read Lincoln in the Bardo.  It is a work that will repay, I think, numerous rereading.

I advise all interested in learning about George Saunders to visit 


Mel u




















8 comments:

  1. This does sound excellent, Mel. I am a fan of Lincoln. Terrific review!

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  2. preparation for traveling through the Bardo is, in part, what Tibetan monks meditate for... the journey is supposed to present obstacles that were significant barriers in one's life sometimes, as you indicated, it a terrifying way... there's been some work done by ?Jung?(not sure i trust my memory about that) having to do with dealing with Bardovian phenomena in a person's lifetime...
    this sounds like an exciting book; i'll check it out... tx...

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  3. I saw him in a public interview at San Francisco's Jewish Community Center earlier this year where an acting troupe performed a section of the novel. Saunders is both brilliant and down to earth, self-effacing. I imagine he's a wonderful teacher and equally would be a delight to just spend an afternoon with him trading thoughts over a cup of coffee. Looking forward to reading this novel.

    Michael Alenyikov

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  4. Wasn't it wonderful and playful, but also dark and sombre? So many feelings. And, as you've said, a remarkable capacity to distill so much into very short scenes. That woman's story was so striking. I may have mentioned these to you before, but if you are able to access CBC's "Writers & Company" podcasts via the 'net, Eleanor Wachtel does some fascinating interviews with writers, which consider their biographies as well as their current publications, and her discussion with George Saunders was terrific. http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/writers-and-company/episode/12380297

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  5. Suko, saw the extreme heat advisory for Southern California. Stay cool and safe

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  6. Mudpuddle. I hope you get opportunity to read this book. Very creative narrative method
    . Your comments are very valuable to me. Thanks

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  7. Buried in Print. Take a look at this web page from The Atlantic

    https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/by-heart/

    Writers talk about a favorite literary work. George Saunders talks about “Gooseberries”by Anton Chekhov, lots of writers featured.

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  8. Michael, I listened to a few podcasts of his on YouTube
    . I totally agree with you. Thanks so much for your comment. It means a lot to me.

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your comments help keep us going and do a lot to make the blog more interesting.thanks