2017Booker 2017
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders · b. 1958 · United States
Why it matters
A grieving Lincoln visits his dead son's crypt, surrounded by the chattering ghosts who refuse to move on. Saunders's Booker winner, assembled entirely from voices, is a séance about love, loss, and letting go.
At a glance
postmodernhistorical fictiongothic
Difficulty 7/10medium pace343 pagesA polyphonic chorus of ghost-narrators and collaged historical fragments require active assembly.
Deep dive
A graveyard full of the dead who refuse to admit they're dead — until a grieving president wanders in and, for one night, they get to speak through him.
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