When I started Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, I picked it up, read the first chapter, flipped through the pages, noticing how many chapters were less than a page, and thought, “Oh nice, this will be a breeze.”
I was so insanely wrong that there should be a prison sentence attached to my miscalculation. This book was challenging, and I didn’t understand what was going on for the first 100 pages and until I read a summary on Wikipedia. Reading it often felt like a mind-numbing chore, but it did impart a very powerful feeling of grief and love. Once I understood what was going on, I appreciated it much more; and the writing itself was really impressive and creative.
This is one of those “feelings” books. Its style, setting, and dreamy atmosphere are meant to bestow feelings, including confusion. It’s one of those books that begs to be reread (see: 1 billion characters with their own unique stories and use of language). To the uninitiated, I would do some research or read a summary before tackling this book (which I typically do for something like Shakespeare’s plays) to get a more satisfying read the first time around.
I typically don’t like historical fiction, and I love Lincoln, so I was worried that I would just hate an attempt at writing about an imagined Lincoln. However, the premise and characters are mostly otherworldly, and Saunders approaches the best U.S. president with grace and respect. This book takes big swings in style and form, and this book earns a lot of Ryan points for that alone. Some of the swings I didn’t care for, especially how corny some of the sequences at the end were (see: exploding ghosts, mass possession, etc.), but the craziness is better than middling wrap-up that a lesser author might have gone with.
One of the best modern short story writers wrote a novel that is basically 100 short stories with a larger overarching narrative. His weird short stories lend themselves to rereading, and this is no different, but I will need some time before I dive back into this difficult book. When I am behind bars, I will have plenty of time to reread and truly appreciate this book.
4/5