This is one of these hauntingly beautiful reads that sticks with you even after you walk away. But I want to be upfront about a couple of possible triggers that some might find disturbing. Mentions of suicide, rape, and incest, are a couple of things that come directly to mind. And while they aren’t flushed out in explicit detail, they are there. I just want it to be known that these types of heavy and dark subjects are mentioned.
Lincoln in the Bardo was an autumnal recommendation from another bookish friend of mine, Ellen. You should check out this post for her recommendations for this time of year, and also just check out her blog in general. She reads some really interesting things!
It is set shortly following the death of Abraham Lincoln’s son, Willie. And without giving too much away, the story is really creatively laid out. There are short snippets within quick chapters, which makes this a really quick read. It will also help if you’re someone like me who recently experience a major reading slump. This gave me back my reading grove.
Anyway, the narration inserts real life clips from various historical sources about the private lives of the Lincolns during Willie’s death, and the early days of the Civil War. It also switches over to the ghosts of a nearby graveyard where Willie has recently been interned. This is where this story begins to tug on your heart strings.
Learning the back stories of the various ghosts and how they came to be in the graveyard was interjected with the perfect amount of sadness and humor. Sometimes you even forgot they were no longer ‘human,’ because Saunders really takes great care to accentuate those mortal qualities that make us all one in the same, even in the after life.
Bevins, one of the primary ghosts who narrated the graveyard parts, really struck me. Two of the quotes that I marked fairly early on in my reading belonged to him. The initial one where we learn of his death really was too much for me to put in here, but if you ever do read, you will understand which passage I’m referring to. But based on the reason behind his death it really isn’t surprising that he is the one who also states:
“We were perhaps not so unloveable as we had come to believe.”
Even as a stand alone quote, it sounds so beautifully sad. In the afterlife, they all begin to believe that they are no longer deserving of love or recognition. This idea especially becomes apparent whenever a grieving Abe Lincoln appears to pay respects to his son Willie’s grave. Just thinking about it all brings a tear to my eye.
For fans of creatively written tales like The Book Thief, and for those who are intrigued by history, this marries those two concepts in a brilliant way that will simultaneously break you down and give you hope for a better place once we depart from this one.
The foreshadowing of future events at the end is another brilliant incorporation of history into a ghostly tale. I gave this an easy 
Any other ghostly reads out there I should be aware of? Let me know! I would love to add to that part of my shelves!
Until next time bookish buds!
I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to rave about it in this review. I wanted to proclaim my undying love to it. And maybe it’s because I am reading this so late in life. Maybe because I saw the film first my opinion of the book was slightly tainted. (Although truthfully, it wasn’t even that memorable, so I didn’t have too many spoilers that came from the film to the book.) I could probably come up with more reasons/excuses to try and place blame on myself for not LOVING this book, but we would probably be here all day.
rating.
“When the day shall come, that we do part,” he said softly, and turned to look at me, “if my last words are not ‘I love you’—ye’ll ken it was because I didna have time.”
