I normally scorn Man Booker Prize winners. Pretentious and style over substance. Not much style either. And perhaps I might have thought the same for George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo if it wasn’t for the audiobook production.
As it turns out, Lincoln in the Bardo rapidly became one of my favourite books of all time. I remember feeling drawn to it, a magnetic pull, the day it came out. There was this gorgeous hardback first edition with delightfully cut and ruffled pages that seemed more feather than paper just sitting like a rare jewel on display in an indie bookstore on Toronto’s Queen Street West.
The way I feel about books is the way James Baldwin feels about people:
‘People can’t, unhappily, invent their mooring posts, their lovers and their friends, anymore than they can invent their parents. Life gives these and also takes them away and the great difficulty is to say Yes to life.’ – Giovanni’s Room
Lincoln in the Bardo chose me. And became a mooring post. One that I would box up and ship as a gift to my father, hoping to spread the joy of the work. And now I want to spread the joy to you.
Lincoln in the Bardo is difficult to read. But it’s a delight and easy to understand when you listen to it. I did both. Beautiful book in hand in dim evening lamplight, audiobook playing in my ears as my eyes slowly scanned the poetry of each line.
The audiobook is 7 hours and boasts a cast of 166 superb voice actors.
You won’t hear another audio production like it.
As for the story, Saunders weaves non-fiction biographical and historical accounts alongside his poetical fictional story.
It’s set less than one year into the Civil War and follows the ghostly substances that float through the air whilst Abraham Lincoln grieves by the tomb of his too-early-deceased son.
You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll contemplate your entire life. And you won’t soon forget Lincoln in the Bardo.
You can get Lincoln in the Bardo for free when signing up to Amazon through this link.
Or you can purchase it as a one-off from Amazon here.
Warning: The video below will immediately convince you to listen to Lincoln in the Bardo
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