Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders shot to the top of the bestseller lists. I wouldn’t say this is a fun book, but it is a thoughtful slog through grief and denial with a colorful cast of unforgettable characters.
Saunders’ unusual prose style is disorienting at first, but then makes complete sense as a style choice. Each character has a clearly unique voice. After a few chapters, it’s easy to tell who’s speaking, even without dialogue tags. The unique perspective of each character infused into their bit of the narrative was deftly done. And there’s so much history woven into the text that you’ll surely come away having learned a few things about Civil War-era life.
I really enjoyed Lincoln in the Bardo and it turns out that Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman also liked the story enough to buy the film rights.
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Author: TJ Berry
TJ Berry has been a political blogger, bakery owner, and spent a disastrous two weeks working in a razor blade factory. She now writes science fiction, fantasy, and horror from Seattle with considerably fewer on-the-job injuries. Her fiction has appeared in Pseudopod and PodCastle. She’s on Twitter @TJaneBerry.
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