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Comments (102)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 102 items
Mar 26, 2024EljayJohnson rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
There is something so satisfying for me diving into a difficult, challenging read and being so rewarded. Saunders creates something remarkably creative - a Greek chorus of ghosts witnessing the grief of Lincoln at the death of his beloved…
Jul 16, 2023skleonard rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Wow, between the historical fiction subject matter, the lyrical writing, the character speak, the multi-timeline, multi-dimensional intersecting storylines, this book is fantastic. Warning, it is NOT an easy read. Even 5 years after…
May 28, 2023Stickpoet rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a brilliantly conceived book by George Sanders. I met him at an AWP conference and was impressed with him. The book was a bit difficult because of the dialogue to into but switching to audio book helped with the dialogue. It truly…
May 25, 2023michaelzaitzow rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Echoes of beckett and shakespeare. Admirable. It’s not all perfect, but some of it is.
May 04, 2023
Multiple Recs! "While often laugh-out-loud funny and wildly imaginative, it's ultimately a reflection of love and grief. And some ghost spying on Abraham Lincoln!" - Monica W. "It is a book about a father mourning the death of a child…
Apr 14, 2023CareyMacaulay rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I went into this book not knowing anything about it -- only that I saw it everywhere. At first, I didn't know what the heck was going on but I quickly caught on and then I was hooked. I have never read anything like this before and I love…
Feb 27, 2023Griffeth rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Where to begin? The Bardo of the title refers to an ethereal purgatory populated by souls in various stages of denial, many concerned with the state and care of their “sick-box” or talking about “that previous place.” Here the haunts are…
Dec 12, 2022luketenhage rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This isn't a novel. It's experimental drama. But it's great. Even though it deals with something tragic (the death of a child, unrealized dreams, etc) it still manages to be life affirming. Really quite moving. Bonus points for being like…
Oct 04, 2022ryner rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
In 1862 young Willie Lincoln, son of the sitting U.S. president, dies tragically and ends up in a surreal sort of purgatory set in the cemetery where he is buried. Other residents of the graveyard, each of whom has a backstory and plays a…
Mar 09, 2022stewh rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Requires a bit of effort but well worth it. Saunders is a talented stylist and story-teller.
Jan 29, 2022
Loved the book! I have a question—why should someone be able to rate a book so terribly low when, according to their own “review,” they didn’t even read the book?
Jan 29, 2022Spirit_of_Che rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Just weird, Could not finish.
Jan 08, 2022MADELINE TALBOTT rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite books of all time. George Saunders is hilarious and poignant and, most deeply, human. He gives me hope for the human race, by admitting in his writing how ridiculous we are, but also by getting at how deeply good at…
Dec 22, 2021Kimthereadingqueen rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A very creative and completely fresh way of looking at the Lincoln story, condensed into a single moment of grief refracted into a microcosm of the many-faceted inner lives of others.
Mar 18, 2021maipenrai rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
I wanted to like this book, but found the audiobook distracting because of citations. The cacophony of the dead was far too much a part of the story and detracted from focus on Lincoln and his grief over the loss of his beloved son.…
Mar 05, 2021fmt1403 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
What an interesting book - I enjoyed it very much and occassionly laughed aloud . I can see why it won the Booker in 2017 .
Feb 11, 2021Chapel_Hill_KrystalB rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
What an interesting book, especially on audio- so many great narrators (Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, Carrie Brownstein to name a few). Loved the blending of sorrow with the nuttiness of the bardo’s inhabitants and the added perspective…
Nov 06, 2020LCPL_Cathy rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I sometimes have a hard time reviewing a book that I really loved or an author that I highly respect because I’m afraid that I won’t do them justice so here, I’ll just say that I loved this beautiful book so much and George Saunders is one…
Nov 01, 2020JANO333 rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Total waste of time. Have no idea what this author is trying to do. Can not call this a "novel"; just a crazy bunch of ridiculous quotes.
Aug 07, 2020betsymarzoni rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Highly creative and entertaining. Unique. President Lincoln's beloved young son, Willie, dies and is buried in Georgetown cemetery. He is met there by a number of interesting characters, all of them existing in the "bardo", a state of…
Jul 16, 2020oPod rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
At first a patchwork of citations and ghost or spirit dialogues. As time passes ghosts come to terms with their predicament, their lives lived and when ready they pass onto the next realm. A tale experimental and refreshing in a way,…
Jun 30, 2020multcolib_susannel rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
From the time you open this book to the time you slam it shut, your brain will be taken on a wild rollercoaster ride through a cemetery where some occupants are living and some dead, but all want to tell their story!
Feb 22, 2020maipenrai rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
I wanted to like this book, but found the audiobook distracting because of citations. The cacophony of the dead was far too much a part of the story and detracted from focus on Lincoln and his grief over the loss of his beloved son.…
Dec 21, 2019thegipples rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
Unreadable. Not experimental, just unreadable.
Sep 06, 2019posie12 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Interesting read. Try the "Afterlife of George Cartright " Hell can be a variation of things.