An utterly unique work, bold in concept and skillfully executed, juxtaposing historical record with a fantasy world in which the dead-but-not-departed linger in the Bardo â that state of existence between death and rebirth.
The historical component is built around the death of 11-year-old Willie Lincoln, who succumbed to typhoid early in the second year of his father's presidency, as the Civil War gained momentum. Contemporary writers â many of whom are quoted in brief passages â agreed that his father was devastated by the event, and Saunders takes the opportunity to speculate that Abraham Lincoln may have compared his own grief to that of other fathers and mothers whose sons were perishing in the war that Lincoln himself, as Commander-in-Chief, was directing.
But Saunders has not taken the easy road here and produced yet another Trials of Abraham Lincoln novel. Instead he keeps the focus on the inhabitants of Oak Hill Cemetery â a nosy and loquacious bunch who refer to their coffins as âsick-boxesâ and refuse to acknowledge that they may in fact be dead. Willie briefly joins their number as he waits for his father to fulfill his promise to come and get the boy. When Willie finally realizes his true state of existence, he excoriates the others for their delusions â an act which eventually sends many of them fully to their final exits.
The inhabitants of Oak Hill are much as they were in life â some greedy, some morose, others profane, or lazy, or solitary, or social butterflies. If their lives â and deaths â were intended as lessons or cautionary tales, no one seems to have learned anything from them. The biggest flaw with the round-robin narration Saunders assigns these shades is that they all speak more or less with the same voice, and most of the commentaries could have come from any member of the group.
This is a surprisingly quick read, though it would undoubtedly allow for a thorough study if the reader were so inclined.
The historical component is built around the death of 11-year-old Willie Lincoln, who succumbed to typhoid early in the second year of his father's presidency, as the Civil War gained momentum. Contemporary writers â many of whom are quoted in brief passages â agreed that his father was devastated by the event, and Saunders takes the opportunity to speculate that Abraham Lincoln may have compared his own grief to that of other fathers and mothers whose sons were perishing in the war that Lincoln himself, as Commander-in-Chief, was directing.
But Saunders has not taken the easy road here and produced yet another Trials of Abraham Lincoln novel. Instead he keeps the focus on the inhabitants of Oak Hill Cemetery â a nosy and loquacious bunch who refer to their coffins as âsick-boxesâ and refuse to acknowledge that they may in fact be dead. Willie briefly joins their number as he waits for his father to fulfill his promise to come and get the boy. When Willie finally realizes his true state of existence, he excoriates the others for their delusions â an act which eventually sends many of them fully to their final exits.
The inhabitants of Oak Hill are much as they were in life â some greedy, some morose, others profane, or lazy, or solitary, or social butterflies. If their lives â and deaths â were intended as lessons or cautionary tales, no one seems to have learned anything from them. The biggest flaw with the round-robin narration Saunders assigns these shades is that they all speak more or less with the same voice, and most of the commentaries could have come from any member of the group.
This is a surprisingly quick read, though it would undoubtedly allow for a thorough study if the reader were so inclined.
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