Lincoln in the Bardo Book Reviews

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Lincoln in the Bardo. I would give this book 100 stars if I could. It was so touching and beautiful and such an incredibly original way to humanize Lincoln even more than our history already makes him. I didn’t want it to end. Can’t wait to read more by this author and am praying the next novel will be 1/10 as good as this.

Huh?. Some amazing books have been written whilst under the influence. This is not one of them.

.... It’s been 5 days since I finished this and I’m still waiting to be moved. Apologies for an unhelpful review. If you’re like me and trying to read more contemporary literature and finally move past the classics, please don’t start here.

Ugh. I'm about 100 pages in. I rarely ever stop reading a book without finishing. This one...not sure it's worth continuing. I agree, completely, with the other reviews.

Pretentious. I read the paperback. The first 80 pages were interesting and moving. What follows is pretentious overblown sludge masquerading as a supposedly darkly comic surreal horror novel choking on ghostly despair and after death. Might have worked at 1/2 the length.

Lincoln in the Bardo. This book is very different and it took me a while to understand the story line. But it is like nothing else I’ve ever read. I read it over a rainy weekend and quite enjoyed this book.

Awkward Awful writing. As much as I tried to like this book, I could not follow it. Boring, confusing non sensical ..I had to give up and spend my time on better books. Don’t understand the hype.

Waste. I purchased this book because it had just won the Man Booker prize and incorrectly assumed that it would be worthwhile reading; I now utterly regret that decision. What a waste...

Strange!. I think the five stars might be for me, for finishing the book. I applaud the writing and for getting off the beaten track, I love to discover new ways of writing, and this is all that. But it was difficult and I asked myself many times why I kept reading. I don’t know if I liked it or not.

Lincoln in the Bardo. Definition of bardo- Lamaism: The intermediate or astral state of the soul after death and before rebirth. “Lincoln in the Bardot” is a weighty novel of historical fiction that speaks of Abraham Lincoln the president, Lincoln the man and Abraham Lincoln the father. The story is told by graveyard souls (in other words: ghosts) waiting to move on from the astral plane on which they have been stuck. Some have been awaiting rebirth for a long time, others have just arrived. The newest member is President Lincoln’s young son Willie who died of Typhoid: he has been brought to a cemetery crypt in his “sick box” (in other words, a coffin). What follows is a combined effort of souls to get Willie to his rebirth and his dad back to the White House and the Civil War. The book is full of sadness mixed with dark humor. Because of the historic quotes the author weaves into the rhythm of the story, the book can be both brilliant and hard to follow. ...But mostly brilliant.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. Lincoln in the Bardo A terrific, thick read that messes with your head. His take on the afterlife, though a period piece, mixed with historical fiction, I think, is dead on. That people are people, no matter the times, whether living or dead. That getting inside of someone else’s head will be troubling to most of us. Sometimes, it takes a child to point out the obvious to grownups. And to do what you should. And even, to go first. The first half of the book built slowly. The second half ran like an express train, fast and powerfull. Theologically, who knows if any of this is right or not. Regardless, a great read. -Rob Cain

Strange and hard to follow.. I know that some love this book. I thought it was strange and hard to follow. I’m pretty open minded but abandoned it 1/3 of the way through. Life is too short.

Novel Novel. If you love traditional novels with character development, this may not be for you. This is a uniquely structured novel which reads quickly with so many voices it’s difficult to keep track. Though it’s structured uniquely for audiobook listening it seems to me, I found it better to read it to keep track of the plot rather than the characters. For me neither the plot nor the characters were developed enough. I imagine this is the first of many new novels for audio I’ll come across and I look forward to innovative structures that are more satisfying.

Speechless. I just finished this book. It is a masterpiece of prose, originality, and construction. I couldn’t possibly do justice with a review, so here’s a quote: “His mind was freshly inclined toward sorrow; toward the fact that the world was full of sorrow; that everyone labored under some burden of sorrow; that all were suffering; that whatever way one took in this world, one must try to remember that all were suffering (none content; all wronged, neglected, overlooked, misunderstood), and therefore one must do what one could to lighten the load of those with whom one came into contact; that his current state of sorrow was not uniquely his, not at all, but, rather, its like had been felt, would yet be felt, by scores of others, in all times, in every time, and must not be prolonged or exaggerated, because, in this state of grief, he could be of no help to anyone and, given that his position in the world situated him to be either of great help or great harm, it would not do to stay low, if he could help it.” BUY THIS BOOK.

A must-read. Essential!. Indescribable. Utterly original. One of a kind!!Not an easy read at times and demands great concentration but is perhaps the most moving and rewarding reading experience I have had in years. A fraction of the length but has the depth found within Pierre’s sections in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, that sense of grace and love and understanding. Absolutely and utterly essential. I will be reading it again for sure. Bravo Mr Saunders!!!

Hard to Follow. I applaud any writer willing to take a chance with a different style and a unique story line, but I found myself 100 pages into this book and still not caring about any of the characters and confused by the sudden switches in point of view. I finally just gave up. There were no reviews when I purchased it but it had gotten coverage in my local newspaper so I took a chance. This is the rare time when I wish I could get my money back.

Style is distracting. I couldn’t handle the pseudo-quote, jumpy, half-sentence, stylized writing. Really bad.

Lincoln In the bardo. This book is supposed to be about Lincoln. Content seems difficult to read. What a waste of money…

Hated. Choppy, manic story telling. Ridiculously confusing.

A unique journey!. A very interesting perspective of life and death as experienced through those caught in the "Bardo" (the place between life and Death). Historically Intersected with the death of Lincoln's son Willie this fascinating novel runs the gambit of human emotion both in life and in the afterlife.

Lincoln In The Bardo. Odd, but bizarrely fun.

Interesting, but not a favorite. It was an interesting read, to say the least. This book follows the death of young Willie Lincoln and his after-life experience in a graveyard among other "spirits," including three deceased men who act as main characters. This story takes place late in the night when President Lincoln went to visit his son on the same day that they had laid him to rest. This was a real occurrence, as there are historical accounts written by the people who saw the President that night. Dialogue was difficult to follow. Chapters flipped back and forth between the fictional story and real accounts of the President, his family, the White House, the Civil War, etc. What the mausoleum was doing to Willie was completely confusing and didn't make sense until the last 50 pages. I won't ever revisit this book, like I usually do with favorites, but it really put life and death into perspective for me. It also made me wonder a lot about President Lincoln and that night in the graveyard so many years ago.

Best seller?. Weird book. Couldn't follow it at all. Saunders must have had many voices in his head when he wrote this book. I thought it would have been about Lincoln.

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Interesting Read. Starts fairly slow, and it took me some time to get through the initial pages, but interesting both for its historical references and the story itself further in. Happy I decided to read it through.

Wow. An interesting, if perhaps initially confusing format that reveals itself to be a profound, beautifully written novel. Not what's expected, but so very much better.

Brutal. Only the 2nd book in my life that I have not finished. It feels like the only reader that could understand what is going on would have been the author. Just way to much effort to read.