Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Lincoln in the Bardo: Introduction
Lincoln in the Bardo: Plot Summary
Lincoln in the Bardo: Detailed Summary & Analysis
Lincoln in the Bardo: Themes
Lincoln in the Bardo: Quotes
Lincoln in the Bardo: Characters
Lincoln in the Bardo: Terms
Lincoln in the Bardo: Symbols
Lincoln in the Bardo: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of George Saunders
Historical Context of Lincoln in the Bardo
Other Books Related to Lincoln in the Bardo
- Full Title: Lincoln in the Bardo
- When Published: February 14, 2017
- Literary Period: Contemporary
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Experimental Fiction
- Setting: As the title suggests, the majority of Lincoln in the Bardo takes place in the Bardo—a liminal space between death and rebirth—but this particular Bardo is set in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
- Climax: The Reverend Everly Thomas sacrifices himself by moving on from the Bardo, thereby summoning a shock of “matterlightblooming” energy that blasts through a hellish tendril wrapping around Willie Lincoln.
- Antagonist: A tendril made out of hellish souls. This tendril wraps around children who remain too long in the Bardo, securing them in place for eternity. In a more general sense, the true antagonist of Lincoln in the Bardo is the Bardo-dwellers’ inability to accept that they’ve died.
- Point of View: Lincoln in the Bardo is narrated as a series of monologues, as well as excerpts from both authentic and invented historical sources documenting Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.
Extra Credit for Lincoln in the Bardo
Film Rights. The actors Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally—who are married to one another—purchased the film rights to Lincoln in the Bardo shortly after the novel was released in 2017.
Audiobook. When George Saunders decided he wouldn’t be able to serve as the sole reader for the audiobook version of Lincoln in the Bardo, Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally offered to become involved, eventually bringing on an array of famous actors and authors, such as David Sedaris, Rainn Wilson, Carrie Brownstein, Lena Dunham, Mary Karr, Miranda July, Ben Stiller, Susan Sarandon, and many more.