Lincoln in the Bardo (2017) by George Saunders is a groundbreaking and deeply moving novel that blends historical fiction, experimental prose, and spiritual exploration. Set in 1862, the story unfolds over a single night in a Georgetown cemetery, where President Abraham Lincoln mourns his 11-year-old son, Willie, who has just died of typhoid fever. Unbeknownst to Lincoln, Willie’s soul is trapped in the bardo—a Tibetan Buddhist liminal state between life and rebirth—alongside a chorus of ghosts who are equally unwilling to move on.
Saunders’ narrative is a kaleidoscopic collage of voices, weaving historical accounts (some real, some invented) with the spectral residents’ poignant, often darkly comic monologues. The ghosts—ranging from a grieving businessman to a closeted gay man—cling to their unfinished lives, their stories painting a tapestry of love, regret, and the universal struggle to let go.
A meditation on grief, empathy, and the weight of leadership during national turmoil (the Civil War rages as Lincoln grieves), Lincoln in the Bardo won the Man Booker Prize for its audacious style and emotional power. A novel like no other, it lingers like a whisper long after the final page.
