Lincoln in the Bardo- Book Review

Lincoln in the Bardo is historical fiction I stumbled upon in the Gates reading list where the writer  takes an obscure part of poorly recorded history and fills in the gaps with their own imagination- a limitless genre full of “what if’s” and different takes on what we think we know. In this case the writer, George Sanders, chose The American Civil War- an event relentlessly covered by a large mass of writers. Even though it has been scrupulously reviewed, George Sanders manages to breathe into it new life and follows a deceased William Lincoln, stuck between the world of the living and the dead, witness his father, Abraham Lincoln, deal with this loss in a time of war.

Based on rumors that Abraham Lincoln would visit William’s tomb to cradle his son’s lifeless body, this book shows how anyone person in his situation would do that- as bizarre as it sounds. Abraham Lincoln had lost his child, and having the weight of a whole nation upon his shoulders he could grieve only in the moonlit silence of the cemetery. However, because of his father’s visit and promise to return, William could not move onto the next world. The other ghosts (waiting to be resuscitated- unaware they are dead) try to convince William to move on as the bardo is toxic for children.

The style of the book is different, confusing and scattered so it lies between a hit and a miss. It is entirely made from quotes. You feel connected and disconnected at once while you watch 166 characters/ghosts narrating different aspects of their lives. A heartbreaking moment was when William Lincoln asks his father ,as he suffers from typhoid, why couldn’t he help him. What makes it worse is William’s confusion at his father’s inability because people called him ‘The Most Powerful Man in the World’. Where was his power now? Another intriguing aspect is how differently people describe events in the living world, for example when each ‘witness’ describes the color of Abraham Lincoln’s eyes differently.

This book isn’t ‘easy’. Not many will like it, in fact I am not sure if I do either. But it shows an interesting perspective shown in an equally interesting method. With moments that hit hard and are sometimes funny. It’s one of those books you must read and re-read to truly understand- which when you do makes you love it even more.

P.S.- A bardo is a state between life and death. I like the title because it doesn’t say William Lincoln in the bardo. I like to think that this event left Abraham Lincoln neither alive nor fully dead as well. He couldn’t leave the bardo due to the responsibility of war nor return to his previous world because of the scars.

Let me know how you like it.