Hi all:
I bring you a review that is a follow-up on a series of reviews from last year.
Lincoln in the Bardo: WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017 by George Saunders
WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017
A STORY OF LOVE AFTER DEATH
‘A masterpiece’ Zadie Smith
‘Extraordinary’ Daily Mail
‘Breathtaking’ Observer
‘A tour de force’ The Sunday Times
The extraordinary first novel by the bestselling, Folio Prize-winning, National Book Award-shortlisted George Saunders, about Abraham Lincoln and the death of his eleven-year-old son, Willie, at the dawn of the Civil War
The American Civil War rages while President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son lies gravely ill. In a matter of days, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns to the crypt several times alone to hold his boy’s body.
From this seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of realism, entering a thrilling, supernatural domain both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself trapped in a transitional realm – called, in Tibetan tradition, the bardo – and as ghosts mingle, squabble, gripe and commiserate, and stony tendrils creep towards the boy, a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie’s soul.
Unfolding over a single night, Lincoln in the Bardo is written with George Saunders’ inimitable humour, pathos, and grace. Here he invents an exhilarating new form and is confirmed as one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Deploying a theatrical, kaleidoscopic panoply of voices – living and dead, historical and fictional – Lincoln in the Bardo poses a timeless question: how do we live and love when we know that everything we hold dear must end?
https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Bardo-WINNER-BOOKER-PRIZE-ebook/dp/B01HI8M1TY/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lincoln-Bardo-WINNER-BOOKER-PRIZE-ebook/dp/B01HI8M1TY/
Editorial reviews:
A masterpiece (Zadie Smith New York Times)
Must be one of my favourite novels. What a warm, kindhearted and radical piece of writing. Such delicacy, such serious wit. I love it (Max Porter)
An early contender for 2017’s Man Booker, a highly affecting novel about Abraham Lincoln’s grief at the loss of his young son (Sunday Times 2017-01-01)
The much anticipated long-form debut from the US short-story maestro does not disappoint (Guardian 2017-01-07)
The debut novel by the short-story supremo George Saunders. Set in 1862 in a cemetery in Washington, it has drawn high praise (New Statesman 2017-01-06)
A cacophonous, genre-busting book inspired by the death of Abraham Lincoln’s young son (Metro 2017-01-09)
Filled with wit and sadness. It is an immensely powerful work. In the hands of the right imagination, the horror of individual loss can become an extraordinarily humane exploration of the beauty and the value of life, however painful (Guardian 2017-09-21)
An original father-son tale that expertly blends history and fiction (and even the supernatural), Lincoln in the Bardo explores grief, loss, life, death (Buzzfeed Year Ahead in Books)
George Saunders makes you feel as though you are reading fiction for the first time (Khaled Hosseini)
A morally passionate, serious writer … He will be read long after these times have passed (Zadie Smith)
Review
‘It would be an understatement to call this novel an extraordinary tour de force.’ (The Sunday Times)
‘A luminous feat of generosity and humanism.’ (The New York Times)
‘A surreal metaphysical drama about grief and freedom … A father-son narrative that is both hilarious and haunting.’ (The Evening Standard)
About the author:
George Saunders is the author of nine books, including Tenth of December, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and won the inaugural Folio Prize (for the best work of fiction in English) and the Story Prize (best short story collection). He has received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, the PEN/Malamud Prize for excellence in the short story, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2013, he was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University.
https://www.amazon.com/George-Saunders/e/B000APEZ74/
My review:
I thank NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me an ARC copy of this novel that I freely chose to review.
First, in case you have not read the book or anything about it, and wonder what the bardo of the title refers to, it is a Buddhist concept (in Tibetan Buddhism, it seems, and I’ve read that Saunders is a Buddhist) referring to an intermediate state between death and rebirth (between two lives on Earth).
Now that we’ve cleared that out, if you follow my blog, you might remember that I reviewed some of the books that had made the long and the short-list of the Booker Prize. I enjoyed some of them more than others, but I had not read the book that actually won the Prize, and when I saw it come up on NetGalley, I could not resist. I had heard and read a great deal about it, and I felt I had to check it for myself.
This is not a standard novel. It is composed of fragments, divided into chapters, some that appear to contain extracts from a variety of written historical documents (diaries, newspapers, books, memoirs) which provide background to the events, Lincoln’s presidency and the tragic death of his son, Willie, victim to typhoid fever. Other chapters, also fragmented, contain first-person observations by a large variety of characters that ‘live’ at the cemetery where Willie is laid to rest. Call them ghosts, spirits, or whatever you prefer, they seem to have been there for a while, some longer than others, and they interact with each other, while at the same time talking about themselves and taking a keen interested on little Willie Lincoln and his father. We have the spirits of black and white characters, young and old, men and women, well-off citizens and paupers, people who had lead seemingly morally exemplary lives and others who had gone down the wrong path, some who had taken their own lives, others who had died by accident or in bed. There are some actively atoning for their sins while others only seek entertainment. They are a motley crew, and although we hear mostly from three of these characters (Hans Vollman, Roger Bevins, and the Reverend Everly Thomas) and from Willie, they all make important contributions and help create a whole that is more than its parts.
The structure of the novel is puzzling and intriguing, and although it made me think of postmodernism and pastiche, the methodology used to construct the novel is not an attempt at emptying it of meaning or making us reflect upon the artificiality and futility of seeking truth and understanding. The death of a child (even if we are not parents, most of us are close enough to the children of relatives and/or friends to be able to imagine what it must be like) is a terrible tragedy and although there are light moments in the novel, there are touching and moving ones as well. Some of the fragments emphasise the diverse opinions and judgements about Lincoln and his presidency (by the way, although some of these fragments are real documents from the period, others have been created by Saunders, and it is not evident while reading which ones are which), but everybody agrees on the devastating effect the death of his son had over the president. The hopeful ending might feel somewhat surprising but is open to interpretation, like the rest of the text.
There are fragments that will make readers wonder about religious beliefs, others that question the social order, racial ideas, and the Civil War. But I fully understand the puzzlement of many readers who leave negative reviews on this book (and the negative reviews are many) stating that they don’t understand anything, it goes over their heads, and it is not really a novel. Some readers, familiar with Saunders’s short-stories, prefer those to the novel, but as I have not read them, I cannot comment.
Here some examples of the style of writing in the book (in this case, I definitely recommend prospective readers to check inside or get a sample to see if it suits their reading taste).
…only imagine the pain of that, Andrew, to drop one’s precious son into that cold stone like some broken bird & be on your way.
Mr. Collier (shirt clay-stained at the chest from his fall, nose crushed nearly flat) was constantly compelled to float horizontally, like a human compass needle, the top of his head facing in the direction of whichever of his properties he found himself most worried about at the moment.
The money flows out, tens of thousands of men wait, are rearranged to no purpose, march pointlessly over expensive bridges thrown up for the occasion, march back across the same bridges, which are then torn down. And nothing whatsoever is accomplished.
Blame and Guilt are the furies that haunt houses where death takes children like Willie Lincoln; and in this case there was more than enough blame to go around.
The book collects a large number of endorsements and reviews at the end, and I’ve chosen this one by James Marriott, from The Times, for its briefness and accuracy: ‘The book is as weird as it sounds, but it’s also pretty darn good.’
In sum, this is a highly experimental book, for readers who enjoy a challenge and don’t mind a non-linear narrative, who enjoy literary fiction not focused on plot, and are intrigued by new writers and what makes critics tic. It is not an easy read, but it is a rewarding one and I, for one, hope to catch up on some of the author’s previous books.
Thanks to NetGalley, to Bloomsbury and to the author for the novel, thanks to all of you for writing, and remember to like, share, comment, click, review, and keep smiling!
This certainly looks like a book of a different color Olga. I’m going to hop of to Amazon and read more. Thanks 🙂
Thanks, Debby. There has been plenty written about this book, mostly in the UK press. Have a great week!
🙂 You too Olga x
This book sounds very unusual in its style, Olga. I suppose it depends what the authors intention is with a book, mass market or intellectuals. I am reading my new book to my Mom chapter by chapter. It has been said that I write in riddles sometimes and I want my book to be understandable by a large market. Intriguing, I may just look into this one for a real “me” read.
Thanks, Robbie. You are right, of course. I don’t think the writer wrote the book for the mass market, that’s for sure, but when books get certain big prizes, they sell in number they might never have sold otherwise, and perhaps reach a market never intended. It has made me curious about the author short-stories, as these are universally appreciated, even if it is only by a much more limited readership.
I have read quite a few reviews of this book, mostly positive ones. (Because of the vague Civil War connection, I considered buying it) In my past experience, many winners of the Booker Prize have been books ‘written for writers, not readers’. (Not my quote, but I can’t recall where I read it) One negative review I read of this book stated ‘It strives to be so inventive, tricky, and clever that I stopped being interested in what it was trying to say’. That said, Literary and ‘Bookish’ people love it, in the same way that ‘Arty’ people love to admire abstract paintings that most other people just don’t ‘get’.
Maybe it’s an ‘Abstract book’? Not one for me I’m afraid, but winning the prize will ensure great success, and I won’t be missed.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. I know what you mean, and books that win prizes sometimes end up getting a readership that was never intended. I can honestly say this was not the book I enjoyed the most of those I read that had been nominated to last year’s Booker, and there were plenty more accessible ones. I am not sure it is a book for writers. I think it is a book for critics and people who enjoy complexity and mastery of the writing form (not all writers are virtuosi and there is plenty of raw talent out there), and those who prefer literary fiction, for sure, and not genre books. I remember, years back, my surprise when ‘El secreto de sus ojos’ (The Secret in Their Eyes, I know you love it as well) won the Oscar to the best foreign movie, an award that seems to attract, often, more experimental and alternative films, and it seems less influenced by big studio campaigns. Because, well, it is a well-written, well-acted, well-edited and directed movie, and just (as it if was so easy to achieve) a well-made and solid good movie. Of course, the people who vote the oscars are professionals but not critics.
On the abstract art subject… I used to hate it when I was younger but I’ve come to appreciate some of it in later years, but I can’t say I understand it. I either like it or not.
I’m pretty curious about Saunders’s short stories, after reading many of the comments telling him to go back to that form, so I might have to track some down.
Have a great week, Pete.
It’s been a while since I read this, but I liked it. I don’t particularly like “experimental,” but once I got into reading it, I didn’t think it was difficult to follow at all. I don’t think it was really abstract–more conversational with the ghosts talking to one another.
Thanks for the comment, Merril. I know what you mean, although I’m sure I’ve read some people querying if they could be called ghosts, as human beings can’t see them or even hear them. I agree it is not abstract and there is some plot, although the form of the book and the style of writing seem to play as big a part in the novel as the story itself. I am intrigued by the author and will try and read some of his other books. Have a great week.
Hi Olga. I tend to agree with Pete on this one. Although your review is compelling. I guess if I had time to (and were capable of) truly relaxing and giving as much time as necessary to a book, I might be more generous in my reaction. But what you described of the “structure”… I’m sure I would lose patience with it quickly.
This is where your mindful reviews are so very helpful. I always understand why you liked or didn’t care for something. Hugs on the wing.
Thanks, Teagan. I tend to go through books pretty quickly these days, but this is a book that requires time and patience, I’d say. I’m happy my review helped you make your mind up about it. I am intrigued by what I’ve read about the author’s short stories and I’ll see if I come across them. Enjoy your Wednesday.