Abraham Lincoln needs no introduction, but what of the other member of this book’s title?
The Bardo is a space between life and death in Buddhism. Buddhists will often visualize terrible things happening to them in the Bardo during meditation to prepare themselves for it, but nobody knows for sure what it looks like or contains.
That definition is a bit over-simplified, but it serves the purposes of this novel. The Bardo is portrayed as akin to Christian Purgatory and similar afterlives in Saunders’ story.
With that established, “Lincoln in the Bardo” by George Saunders is an absolute page-turner. It follows Abraham Lincoln coping with the death of his youngest son, Willie Lincoln, while the American Civil War is ongoing.
While Honest Abe is mourning his favorite child, Willie finds himself in the Bardo. Or, at least, the reader has to assume so, as the realm he finds himself in is never given a name. It is instead referred to with monikers such as “this place.”
Willie meets a multitude of spirits who have not moved on to the afterlife. The two most prominent of which are Hans Volmann, a no-nonsense man with a giant penis, and Roger Bevins III, a man who gains eyes when he talks about how beautiful he finds the world.
The reader soon discovers that these spirits don’t know they’re dead. It’s not that they lack the knowledge; rather, they refuse to acknowledge that reality and think they will be able to return to their lives whenever they like.
For example, Bevins tried ending his own life after his lover, Gilbert, left him for another man. He changed his mind midway through the attempt, but it was too little, too late. The readers know that he is dead, but Bevins says he can return to his kitchen whenever he wants.
Willie, on the other hand, is extremely confused. He doesn’t understand that he’s dead or why he’s in this new place. Volmann and Bevins assist Willie in his journey through the Bardo, though he seems focused on the fact that his dad can’t see or hear him.
Abraham Lincoln himself is an emotional wreck throughout the book. It makes sense: nobody would expect someone leading a war who just lost his son to be mentally okay. Throughout the novel, Lincoln shows up to check on Willie’s body, and we also get glimpses of him alone.
While the setting, plot and characters are all fine and good, the framing and writing style of this novel is what really puts it head and shoulders above the rest.
Saunders spent multiple years researching archival material to write this book. He directly inserts primary sources from the era to reflect public opinion on the issues he’s discussing.
Examples include a letter from a father whose son died in the Civil War, newspaper clippings covering Willie’s death, diary entries from Lincoln White House staff and more.
There are no dialogue tags or quotation marks in this book. Instead, when a section is done, it attributes its source afterward. It will say “Willie Lincoln” if Willie said it, for example, while it will say “In ‘Lincoln: A Story for Boys,’ by Maxwell Flagg” when attributing to a source.
I had to read this book for my Historical Fiction workshop class. I’m not really the type to recommend books I had to read for school to others, but I cannot stop thinking about this novel. It truly appeals to a plethora of genres.
Fans of supernatural, horror, mythology, historical fiction and similar genres will love this book. Those fond of compelling characters and solid narratives will likely also be entertained.
I cannot recommend picking this book up from your nearest bookstore or library enough. It is 500 pages of a fever dream that is now living rent-free in my head.
Tolbert can be contacted at [email protected].
