Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

On Monday, September 10th, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.  Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting:

• The book had mixed reviews. Some of our group loved it and others struggled to get through it.
• Most agreed that it was beautifully written but at times the prose could be rough and harsh. We thought is was an innovative form of writing (one member mentioned that the book was very Avant-garde) and at times it was a contradiction of humor and tragedy. We thought it was theatrical with one member saying she could almost picture the different scenes taking place. Some thought it would make a better play.
• Some of us like the traditional, conservative in structure novel so this one was a little weird for a lot of us, but it was a quick read so we hung in there and most were glad they did.
• Some of the best parts of the book for the group were the excerpts of newspaper articles, books, letters, and other documents detailing opinions of Lincoln’s political life. These accounts were often contradictory and most of us did not realize how controversy the war was during that period.
• What a lot of us had problems with were the historical facts being mixed up with made-up entries. It reminded us of another magical realism book we read, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, where some of the information is real, some is invented, and it is not always clear which is which.
• The question was raised as to why use Lincoln since the book isn't based on any significant amount of real history. Many thought Saunders could have been using Lincoln as was a way to attract attention to the book because of the fascination we all have of Lincoln. Others thought it might have been because of the tragedy that Lincoln endured during that time period that we could all relate to. We did agree that the way Saunders portrayed Lincoln’s personal grief over the loss of his son and the loss of so many sons throughout the country was heartbreaking.
• Everyone had to look up the meaning of “Bardo.” What we took from the book was that we have to let it go, let go of life (when the time comes) and let go of those unfulfilled wants or desires. In Willie’s case the inability to let go came from both sides, his and his fathers. One of our members who is familiar with the Buddhist teachings explained that “in the bardo” is a space somewhere between life and death and the hope is to move on to Nirvana (or Heaven).
• I recently learned that Megan Mullally & Nick Offerman have purchased the movie rights to this book. You can read about it here.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.