(2/14/2017)
A father — President Abraham Lincoln — mourns his son, Willie — who has died of typhoid fever — as thousands of parents mourn their own sons — who have died in the first year of the American Civil War.
This book takes place over one night (along with several flashbacks) in a crypt where “sick-forms” stay near their “sick-boxes” waiting to get well. They are unaware of the years and decades passing them, unaware that they are dead. They wait in the Bardo, a Buddhist version of the place between the here and the hereafter, but reimagined by the author into a horribly sad, horribly creepy creation. In Saunders’ version, adults are permitted to wait in the Bardo, but children will face horrible torment and punishment if they try to stay. Lincoln visits his dead son in the crypt and talks to (and cuddles) his corpse. His son’s spirit cannot understand why his father his giving all his attention to “the worm” (his dead body) while he is standing right next to him with his arm around his shoulder trying to comfort him and be comforted by him.
The writing of the love between the Lincoln and Willie and the utter and absolute heartbreak of losing each other is so pure and so honest that I cried through a lot of the second half of this book.
I will admit that I listened to the audio recording of this one because of the high accolades the recording received, and I think that only added to my enjoyment (although the crying while driving wasn’t something I anticipated.) While the spoken citations (some real and some invented by the author) started off as distracting, they took on a poetic feel as the book went on. If you can listen to this one, it’s a special recording, but a recording is only as good as its script, and this is an excellent one. I went out and bought the book as soon as I finished listening.
Be warned not to listen to this one with children around, but even if you’ve already read it, it’s worth listening to the audio version, as well.