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Nov 02, 2017pokano rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The 2017 Mann Booker Prize winner will not be everyone's cup of tea. The premise is the historical fact that Abraham Lincoln's young son, Willie, has died. A few nights later, Lincoln, wracked with grief and bowed by fatigue, visits the cemetery. The bardo comes from a Tibetan Buddhist concept of the place between death and rebirth. The book is written in many voices, mostly from inhabitants of the bardo (including Willie) who come from all walks of life and sometimes from historical and more contemporary works about Lincoln and Willie. At times the book seems brilliant and at other times, I found it just plain confusing. Fortunately, the book is a quick read.