Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
About George Saunders
His first full-time writing gig was as a technical writer, first for a pharmaceutical company and then for an environmental engineering company. His first book was a collection of short stories,CivilWarLand in Bad Decline. One of the stories from this book, “Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz,” was published in The New Yorker in 1992, the first of many of his stories or articles published in that magazine. Since 1996, He has taught in the MFA program at Syracuse.
Saunders' collections of short stories include:
- CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996) (short stories and a novella)
- Pastoralia (2000) (short stories and a novella)
- In Persuasion Nation (2006) (short stories)
- Tenth of December: Stories (2013) (short stories)
Essays and reporting:
- Saunders, George (2006). A bee stung me, so I killed all the fish (notes from the Homeland 2003–2006). Riverhead Books.
- The Braindead Megaphone (2007) (collected essays)
- Congratulations, by the way: Some Thoughts on Kindness (2014)
- "Trump days : up close with the candidate and his crowds". American Chronicles. The New Yorker. 92 (21( (July 11–18, 2016) 50–61.
Anthologies:
- Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, "Found" Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts, edited by David Shields and Matthew Vollmer (2012).
Awards won:
- National Magazine Award for Fiction, 1994 – "The 400-Pound CEO", short story, published in Harper's Magazine.
- National Magazine Award for Fiction, 1996 – "Bounty", short story, published in Harper's Magazine
- National Magazine Award for Fiction, 2000 – "The Barber's Unhappiness", short story, published in The New Yorker
- National Magazine Award for Fiction, 2004 – "The Red Bow", short story, published in Esquire
- 2nd Prize in the 1997 O. Henry Awards – "The Falls", short story, published in The New Yorker (January 22, 1996 issue)
- Lannan Foundation – Lannan Literary Fellowship, 2001
- MacArthur Fellowship, 2006
- Guggenheim Fellowship, 2006
- American Academy of Arts and Letters, Academy Award, 2009
- World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story – "CommComm", published in The New Yorker (August 1, 2005 issue)
- PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, 2013
- The Story Prize, 2013 – Tenth of December: Stories
- Folio Prize, 2014 – Tenth of December: Stories
- The New York Times Book Review, "10 Best Books of 2013", Tenth of December: Stories
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Elected as Member, 2014
- Booker Prize, 2017 – Lincoln in the Bardo
- American Academy of Arts and Letters, Inducted as Member, 2018
Finalist honors:
- PEN/Hemingway Award, 1996 – Finalist – CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
- The Story Prize, 2006 – Finalist – In Persuasion Nation
- National Book Award for Fiction, 2014 – Finalist – Tenth of December: Stories
- Bram Stoker Award, 2011 – Finalist – "Home" (short story)
Why Lincoln and Why the Bardo?
George Saunders in his own words from a "PBS News Hour" interview:
More about bardo states from Buddhist teaching.
Critical Opinion
Here are a couple of lengthy and thoughtful reviews:
- A favorable one from The New Yorker (“Lincoln in the Bardo” has great matters on its mind: freedom and slavery, the spirit and the body. But it is, finally, “about” Abraham Lincoln, that great spectral presence in a whole subgenre of American fiction.)
- A not-so-favorable one from The Atlantic (...if you like a salty-sweet mix of cruelty and sappiness, you’ll enjoy your visit.)
Lincoln in the Bardo in Other Media
I listened to the audio version of Lincoln in the Bardo, and I highly recommend it. Actors and others, including Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, the author, and Don Cheadle speak all the parts. Here is a full list of the cast of characters. This audio book is available for download from the San Leandro Library.Lincoln in the Bardo was also turned into a virtual-reality experience. Here is a YouTube video of that.
