The book simultaneously achieves a deep look into the human condition while also being fun, wacky, and absurd. Living with the situations we are dealt and being able to move on from our past. The second format brought out both quirky hilarity and an overwhelming realness to the lives we aspire to live. history, including the backlash from many citizens who at the time didn’t believe in the things he waged war over, he had to cope with the loss of a son. While in the middle of dealing with monumental times in U.S.

The grieving process Abe went through is factual. The first format brought a sense of reality to the situation. The second– other souls that are stuck with Willie as he views the world, watching his father and the living from the state of in between called the Bardo. The first–cited excerpts of actual accounts from people who surrounded Abe during the time his son got sick and the time that followed his son’s death. The novel weaves together two different formats. I knew it would be experimental going in, but I didn’t know the format would be quite as insane as it is. Everyone seems to have differing opinions about it and, well… I wanted to form my own. Then the amount of conversation surrounding it added to my interest.

I picked this one up partly due to the premise– the death of Abe Lincoln’s son Willie, who becomes stuck in a purgatory between life and afterlife. As soon as I feel I have a solid grip on the types of books I gravitate toward, things like this come along and ruin my formula for picking out books. My first experience with Saunders, his first novel, is the kind of book that makes you question your own taste. Had you told me this novel would not put a priority on character development, abandon all signs of traditional sentence structure, and let the historical context be a backdrop rather than a focal point I would have told you this won’t have a big impact on me.

Lincoln in the bardo book review