01
Why it matters
Saunders uses experimental collage to humanize public grief and imagine radical empathy.
2 lists & prizes
2017 selection · Literary fiction
Lincoln in the Bardo
After Willie Lincoln dies, restless spirits crowd the cemetery where his grieving father returns to the crypt. Their competing voices form a chorus of denial, comedy, and compassion.
02
Read this if…
You are open to inventive historical fiction with supernatural elements.
03
Ideas inside
griefafterlifeLincolncompassion
Get or borrow
Continue with this book.
Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission when you purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. Editorial selections are independent.
Further reading
Read the critics
Independent reviews and criticism from established publications. Links open at the original outlet.
Primary record
Verify the selection
Every inclusion traces back to the organization that made the selection.
Booker Prize — official winner recordOfficial record↗ (opens in a new tab)NPR Books We Love — official recommendation recordOfficial record↗ (opens in a new tab)NPR Books We Love — official recordOfficial record↗ (opens in a new tab)Continue reading
From the same conversation
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
On 2 lists: Booker Prize, NPR Books We Love
Hamnet
On 3 lists: Women’s Prize for Fiction, NPR Books We Love, The New York Times — 10 Best Books
King and the Dragonflies
On 2 lists: National Book Award for Young People's Literature, NPR Books We Love