Lincoln in the Bardo: A Novel (urspr publ 2017; utgåvan 2017)

I don't understand why everyone loves this except me. I guess it's just one of those things in life. I thought it was too nonsensical to read for fun. This is something that maybe you would read in school and break down each part to get the deeper meaning. I didn't feel any of the emotions I was supposed to experience. Lincoln is president. His son died. He's stuck in a sort of between with all these other ghost personalities that are stuck in between too. It's not really about Lincoln or his son that much. This ghosts or whatever they are rant all the time on random things. It tells mixed up bits about their backgrounds. Also, little segments from other works about the president, his parties, his wife or son are mixed in, like one line from this book, one line from that article, one line from a made up source, etc. heavily throughout. I did not see the point of this book. ( )

[b:Lincoln in the Bardo|29906980|Lincoln in the Bardo|George Saunders|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492130850l/29906980._SX50_.jpg|50281866] is the rare book that feels both ephemeral and enduring all at once. It's a rare case of an author simply connecting two dots - a father's love for his dead son and the eternal question of what happens after death - and leaving the story right there exactly there. Some might be underwhelmed by the sparseness and I'll admit that the narrative style is a little abstract (especially in the early going) but hot damn if this isn't a neat piece of fiction. ( )

Phenomenal. I had some skepticism about this after CivilWarLand didn't really land with me but this is one of the best novels I've read in a while. ( )

One of the strangest books I have ever read. It's told mostly by ghosts who inhabit the graveyard where Abraham Lincoln's son Todd is buried. They (the spirits of the dead) have a rather bizarre existance but there are certain rules to it. But Todd and the behavior of his remarkable father - who visits the graveyard and Todd's crypt - seem to disturb their status quo.
The audiobook of this book is fantastically produced, with a multitude of voices who portray the many spirits who speak throughout the book. That was about the only thing that kept my interest, besides some of the historical aspects and the footnotes. I found the whole thing bizarre and even a bit vulgar in how some of the characters were described. Not for everyone, though I'm sure some would like it. ( )

Rating: 2.75* of five

Goodness knows I understand parental grief on losing a child, but this story is trying too hard to be clever for me to empathize with it. While many praise its near-perfection of style, I am left wishing the author would just belt uo already and tell this incredibly moving and deeply personal story. I'm not going to recommend the read.

My example 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 be felt, by scores of others, in all times, in every time, and must not be prolonged or exaggerated, because, in this state, 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.
If you like Saunders, you'll like this; I don't, and I *really* don't. ( )