This one was recommended to me some time ago and I was
looking for something in my Overdrive so I grabbed it.
It’s a very . . . unusual book.
If you don’t know, the Bardo is a state of existence,
not totally unlike purgatory, between death and rebirth. The length varies
based on when a person died and how they lived.
The majority of the book takes place in the Washington
D.C. graveyard where President Lincoln’s young son, Willie, was initially laid
to rest when he died at only ten years of age. The scenes where Willie is dying
are particularly effective, interspersed with the forced gaiety of a party
given at the White House during the Civil War.
Quotes from real sources of the time and made up
quotes are interspersed with no note of which is which. It’s rather
disconcerting, but it also serves the function of a sort of Greek chorus, often
whispering the thoughts of people surrounding the action. I found myself
questioning whether things were real, which can go along with a historical
novel where events are imagined around historical events, but also goes along
with that surreal feel of describing the actions of ghosts.
There are quotes (real
and/or imagined) that blame the Lincoln’s for Willie’s death, saying they were
too permissive and he died because he rode his pony in the rain, an idea that
persists though we KNOW now that viruses cause colds, not being cold. In fact,
he died of Typhoid Fever, a bacterial infection from contaminated food or
drink.
Lincoln is drawn to the
graveyard to visit his son. His grief is well depicted and put into relation
with the terrible weight of having initiated a war, of calling on so many to
give up their lives for a purpose. He asks himself over and over whether it is
the right thing to do and whether he can see it through.
The characters that
populate the Bardo run the gamut of humanity. We hear from different people who
had very different experiences in life, some quite hedonistic, and some quite
horrific. Slavery, and all the hardships and inhumanity that went with it, are
part of the story because of this.
Some of the main
characters have physical descriptions that are somewhat humorous and definitely
outlandish, and, thankfully, difficult to retain in mind. It is part of the
surreal quality of the novel. There is a phantasmagorical feel to all the events.
If you can hold on to it loosely and move from piece to piece, you’ll be in
good shape.
It is definitely not
going to be concrete enough for some people to read. You may feel lost, as in
the mist, or a dream. I think that feeling is somewhat intentional. If you are
okay with it, as I am, you may enjoy this novel. I did. But it’s definitely not
for everyone.
