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Historical Fiction · MelancholicAbraham Lincoln visits his dead son's tomb, and the ghosts in the graveyard watch
Lincoln in the Bardo
2017368 pagesDemanding readSteady pace
★ Booker Prize, 2017
Ghosts watch Lincoln mourn his son
In February 1862, Abraham Lincoln's young son Willie dies, and the grieving president visits his tomb. In the cemetery, a crowd of spirits, caught between life and death, talk among themselves about him. It was Saunders's first novel and won the 2017 Booker Prize.
More about this book
Who
Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln and the ghosts of the cemetery.
World
A cemetery in Washington, D.C., in 1862.
What makes it different
It is built from many short voices and quoted historical sources.
Feel
Strange and moving.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- Lincoln in the BardoWikipedia