Lincoln in the Bardo

A very challenging read. This “experimental” novel is an undertaking, although I warmed to the style about a third of the way through. Saunders plays with narrative structure, sometimes quoting from period reference pieces, sometimes narrating through his characters. The end result is perhaps less satisfying than a traditional read but by no means any less creative.

The Bardo, which I had to look up (Tibetan བར་དོ་ Wylie: bar do — antarabhāva (Sanskrit) is an intermediate, transitional, or liminal state between death and rebirth), is a beautifully rendered limbo state parallel to the real world, populated by incredible ghosts of lives lost. They come alive (if you'll pardon the pun) through the vivid descriptions of their graphic mutations and behaviours, doomed in their limbo state to represent their true desires and mortal fates. I found it hard to keep up with all the character names at first, realizing later that many of the bit parts aren't even worth remembering as they weave in and out of the main narrative.

This book definitely isn't for everyone, but there is a brilliance to the way Saunders has constructed the world, to the rules that define the characters and their goals, and to the presence of the sombre and depressed Mr. Lincoln as he travels through the Bardo and out the other side.