Who Narrates The Multiple Voices In 'Lincoln In The Bardo'?

2025-06-30 00:07:57 18

5 answers

Quinn
Quinn
2025-07-06 09:17:43
'Lincoln in the Bardo' is a masterpiece of narrative experimentation, blending over a hundred voices to tell its haunting story. The primary narrators are the ghosts trapped in the Bardo—a Tibetan limbo—each with distinct personalities and histories. Among them, Hans Vollman, Roger Bevins III, and the Reverend Everly Thomas stand out, offering poignant, often darkly comic perspectives. Their voices intertwine with historical figures, snippets from real and fictional texts, and even Abraham Lincoln himself, creating a chorus of grief and longing.

The ghosts’ accounts are fragmented yet deeply human, reflecting their unresolved lives. Vollman, a middle-aged printer, speaks with wistful confusion; Bevins, a young suicide, rhapsodizes about sensory beauty; the Reverend clings to moral certainty. Historical excerpts—some authentic, some invented—mimic archival research, adding layers of authenticity. Lincoln’s soliloquies, raw with paternal sorrow, anchor the chaos. The result is less a traditional novel than a symphonic meditation on loss, where every voice, however brief, contributes to the collective ache.
Uma
Uma
2025-07-05 01:12:21
The narration in 'Lincoln in the Bardo' is like a kaleidoscope—constantly shifting, dazzling, and disorienting. Ghosts dominate, but their stories collide with archival fragments, creating a mosaic of truth and fiction. Vollman’s earnestness, Bevins’ poetic despair, and the Reverend’s rigid piety form the emotional core, while peripheral spirits chime in with bawdy humor or tragic asides. Lincoln’s voice emerges sparingly, weighted with historical gravitas, yet intimate in his mourning. The technique mirrors the Bardo itself: a space where voices overlap, memories blur, and time fractures. Saunders’ genius lies in making this cacophony feel organic, each voice a thread in the tapestry of collective yearning.
Liam
Liam
2025-07-02 12:33:24
Saunders throws convention out the window with 'Lincoln in the Bardo.' The ghosts do most of the talking—Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend lead the charge, but dozens more chime in. Their dialogue reads like a play script, chaotic yet purposeful. Historical quotes pepper the text, some real, some fabricated, blurring lines between fact and imagination. Lincoln’s internal monologues are sparse but devastating. The structure mirrors grief: messy, nonlinear, and deafeningly loud.
Xavier
Xavier
2025-07-06 01:58:59
What makes 'Lincoln in the Bardo' unforgettable is its chorus of voices. The ghosts are the heart of it—Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend—each trapped by their own regrets. Vollman babbles about his unfinished life; Bevins luxuriates in sensory details; the Reverend moralizes. Historical snippets interrupt, some genuine, others pure invention, challenging how we remember the past. Lincoln’s grief-stricken musings are the anchor, brief but shattering. The collective effect is like eavesdropping on a crowded, spectral confessional.
Alice
Alice
2025-07-05 19:56:54
The narration here is a wild ride. Ghosts argue, joke, and lament, with Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend taking center stage. Their voices—sometimes overlapping—paint the Bardo as a place of chaos and camaraderie. Historical passages, real or not, add weight. Lincoln’s thoughts, though rare, cut deep. It’s less a story than an experience, a cacophony of lives interrupted and histories rewritten.
View All Answers
Scan code to download App

Related Books

One Wife, Multiple Weddings
One Wife, Multiple Weddings
On the day of my wedding with my girlfriend, I was unexpectedly informed by the hotel that our ceremony had to be postponed by a couple of hours. With no time to notify relatives and friends of the change, I had to rush to the hotel entrance to intercept guests. Upon arriving, I was stopped at the door by security, who told me that a wedding was currently taking place inside. The host's voice could be heard as I saw my girlfriend, wearing a veil, smiling and extending her hand to a man who was half-kneeling. In the audience, all the bride's relatives who were supposed to attend our wedding were seated, clapping and cheering. The man on stage was her dream guy and also my current superior. Seeing me causing a commotion, my girlfriend warned me, "I'm just helping out. Alex is your superior. I'm also doing this to help you. Don't cause any trouble." Just helping out? I had booked the wedding venue, chosen the time, designed the wedding dress, and personally sent out the invitations. How could a wedding be rearranged so suddenly? I looked coldly at the ring box the man was holding. "It seems my taste is quite similar to my yours. If that's the case, this diamond ring is yours, including the wife." My girlfriend finally panicked.
18 Chapters
Our Young Funny Voices
Our Young Funny Voices
*Abandoning ship isn’t my style. It wasn’t hers either, but our circumstances ripped us apart. Now it’s not just a literal ocean standing between us. Francine Chirilova has no direction. After coming out of the closet leaves her without a family at age 18, the quick witted 25 year old has been forced to survive on her connections and kind personality. Throw in a rapidly decreasing appetite and a tendency to gravitate toward abusive women for a epic shit show. While recovering from her latest 4 year long mistake, she makes a strong, yet unlikely connection with her virtual best friend. Que in recovering alcoholic Vasilisa Krovopuskova, aged 26 from Siberia, Russia. After surviving a grueling upbringing on her own, trust is a difficult concept to grasp. Already having experienced heartbreak once before, she wasn’t looking for anything serious when Francine crash landed into her life via an online sanctuary for lesbians. With an ocean separating the two, neither Francine nor Vasilisa know which direction to swim in. Will they stay on their side of the world, or drown trying to get to the other? *Disclaimer* - Strong mature content. 18+, please Book one. To follow is book two: “Our Blank Canvas.”
10
42 Chapters
The Voices Inside My Head
The Voices Inside My Head
Being a mute used to be simple before all the craziness started. I just can't talk and that's who I am. Mum has learned to accept that and I guess so have I. Everything was just fine in my high school in Shanghai. I had finally made it to year twelve and even though I was in China, I was actually being treated as a human being despite my disability. Things were definitely not perfect but I would give anything to go back to that, like it was before. I heard my first voice that year, right at the beginning of year 12. I didn’t really have any real friends, but I was used to it and before the voices started, I was fine with that. But it all changed when I first heard them. The voices inside their heads started then and my life was never the same. They weren't just thinking about school or they girls or guys they were into, no they were thinking about doing things, doing horrible things to each other and I was the only one that knew how messed up they really were.
9.9
18 Chapters
The Lycan Descendants
The Lycan Descendants
Rejected by her original mate, Asena Draco meets her second chance mate a day later. Still held bound by her possessive mate that had rejected her, she unknowingly has a one night stand with an unknown man unaware that he was the Lycan king! Leader of the lycanthropy! Fate twists as she conceived of twin and learns that her second chance mate who was the Lycan king was also responsible for her parents annihilation years back or was he? Find out more in this thrilling story "The Lycan Descendants" filled with suspense, romance and twists.
Not enough ratings
4 Chapters
The Hidden Twins of the CEO
The Hidden Twins of the CEO
Ace King, The most eligible bachelor of London. Being the number one eligible bachelor he didn't want to settle down. He is the CEO of King corporation. He has money, look, fame everything. Girls die to be with him. But for his arrogant nature no one dare to mess up with him. He is known for his arrogant nature and anger issues. In the business world he is known for his dominating way. His employees calls him workaholic devil behind his back. He was happy in his life until his eyes fell on Amelia, his new PA. Amelia Williams, A simple yet beautiful girl. 15 years ago, her dad met an accident and got paralyzed. After this Amelia saw her mom doing multiple jobs to buy her dad's medicine and their needs. When she got graduated she started searching for a job, so she could help her mother.
9
119 Chapters
Daddy's Doting Addiction
Daddy's Doting Addiction
Naomi Green spent a hundred million dollars hiring an older man, Jack Hough, to fake a marriage, not knowing that he was Gin City's most influential person! After getting married, Jack doted on her as if she was his precious, pure, and kind little Buttercup, regardless of whatever she did!Beating someone up so badly they ended up in the hospital? Great job! Spending a fortune on acquiring a trashy company? Way to go! No matter how despicable Naomi's reputation was, Jack spoiled her through and through! Everyone thought that Jack was nuts for marrying her. No one knew of Naomi's multiple secret identities: genius hacker, brilliant doctor, supermodel, and exceptional gamer! Naomi was hellbent on revenge and she would stop at nothing!
8.9
473 Chapters

Related Questions

What Awards Has 'Lincoln In The Bardo' Won?

5 answers2025-06-30 02:30:23
'Lincoln in the Bardo' is a literary masterpiece that scooped up some of the most prestigious awards in the book world. It won the Man Booker Prize in 2017, which is a huge deal—it’s like the Oscars for novels. The book also snagged the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction that same year, proving readers adored it just as much as critics. What makes these wins special is how the novel blends historical depth with surreal storytelling. The Man Booker win especially highlighted its innovative structure, mixing ghostly voices with Abraham Lincoln’s grief. The awards cemented George Saunders’ reputation as a writer who can bend genres and emotions in unforgettable ways.

Why Is 'Lincoln In The Bardo' Considered Experimental Fiction?

5 answers2025-06-30 10:31:05
'Lincoln in the Bardo' breaks traditional storytelling rules in ways that make it stand out as experimental fiction. The novel’s structure is a wild mix of historical accounts, ghostly monologues, and fragmented narratives, creating a collage of voices rather than a linear plot. The ghosts in the bardo—a Tibetan term for the transitional state between death and rebirth—narrate their stories in rapid-fire bursts, often contradicting each other, which forces the reader to piece together reality. Another experimental aspect is how Saunders blends real historical sources with fictional elements. Excerpts from (often fabricated) historical documents are spliced into the ghost dialogues, blurring the line between fact and imagination. The prose itself shifts between poetic, chaotic, and deeply emotional, refusing to settle into a single style. This unpredictability mirrors the uncertainty of the bardo, where the dead cling to their unfinished lives. The book’s refusal to conform to genre or form makes it a bold experiment in storytelling.

Is 'Lincoln In The Bardo' Based On A True Story?

5 answers2025-06-30 03:59:57
'Lincoln in the Bardo' is a fascinating blend of historical fiction and surreal imagination. While it draws inspiration from real events—specifically the death of Abraham Lincoln's young son, Willie, during the Civil War—the novel takes massive creative liberties. The 'bardo' itself is a Tibetan concept representing a transitional state between death and rebirth, which George Saunders uses to craft a ghostly narrative far removed from strict historical accuracy. The grief-stricken Lincoln is grounded in reality, but the chorus of spirits and their bizarre, often humorous interactions are pure fiction. The book’s emotional core, Lincoln’s mourning, is historically documented, but the spectral world Saunders builds is entirely his own. The juxtaposition of real quotes from 1862 newspapers with outlandish ghost dialogues creates a unique tension between fact and fantasy. It’s less about retelling history and more about exploring universal themes of loss and the afterlife through a kaleidoscopic lens.

Where Can I Find A Detailed Analysis Of 'Lincoln In The Bardo'?

5 answers2025-06-30 14:15:22
If you're looking for a deep dive into 'Lincoln in the Bardo', I'd recommend starting with literary blogs and academic journals. Sites like JSTOR or Project Muse often have scholarly articles dissecting the novel's themes of grief, historical reimagination, and Saunders' experimental narrative style. The book’s unique structure—blending historical quotes with ghostly dialogues—gets analyzed from multiple angles, like postmodernism or the intersection of fact and fiction. For a more casual but insightful take, platforms like Goodreads or Medium feature reader essays exploring personal interpretations. Some focus on Lincoln’s paternal sorrow, while others unpack the bardo’s Buddhist influences. Podcasts like 'The Lit Up' occasionally cover it too, offering lively discussions on its emotional resonance. Don’t miss Saunders’ interviews; he often reveals layers even critics overlook.

How Does 'Lincoln In The Bardo' Blend Historical Fiction With Fantasy?

5 answers2025-06-30 08:24:48
In 'Lincoln in the Bardo', George Saunders masterfully merges historical fiction with fantasy by grounding the story in real events—President Lincoln’s grief after his son Willie’s death—while immersing readers in a surreal afterlife. The bardo, a Tibetan Buddhist limbo, becomes a playground for spirits who refuse to move on, blending factual grief with supernatural introspection. Historical figures like Lincoln intermingle with ghostly voices, each offering fragmented perspectives that mirror the chaos of loss. The novel’s structure, a collage of quotes and spectral monologues, reinforces this duality: the weight of history meets the fluidity of fantasy. Saunders doesn’t just recount Lincoln’s sorrow; he reimagines it through a chorus of the dead, turning a presidential anecdote into a universal meditation on love and letting go. The fantasy elements aren’t escapism but emotional amplifiers. Ghosts grapple with their unfinished business, their stories ranging from tragic to absurd, yet all tethered to human frailties. Lincoln’s midnight visit to Willie’s crypt becomes a bridge between realms, where historical accuracy bends to accommodate raw, fantastical grief. The bardo’s rules—ghosts fading if forgotten, or trapped by denial—echo real-world struggles with memory and acceptance. This interplay elevates the novel beyond biography, making it a haunting dialogue between fact and the unknowable.

How Does 'The Lincoln Highway' End?

2 answers2025-07-01 22:46:04
I just finished 'The Lincoln Highway,' and that ending left me speechless. The book takes such a wild turn in the final chapters that I had to reread it just to process everything. Emmett, Duchess, and Woolly’s journey spirals into chaos when Duchess’s schemes finally catch up with them. The confrontation at the farmhouse is intense—Duchess’s recklessness leads to a violent showdown, and Woolly’s tragic fate hits like a punch to the gut. Emmett, who’s been trying to do right, ends up alone on the road again, but this time with nothing but regret and the weight of what happened. What’s haunting is how Amor Towles leaves things open. Emmett’s future is uncertain, and the highway becomes a metaphor for all the roads not taken. The side characters, like Sally, get these bittersweet resolutions that mirror the book’s themes of second chances and consequences. The ending doesn’t tie everything up neatly, which feels true to life—some mistakes can’t be undone, and some friendships are shattered beyond repair. It’s a masterclass in how to end a story without easy answers.

Does Lincoln Die In Prison Break

2 answers2025-03-19 16:25:21
No, Lincoln does not die in 'Prison Break'. He goes through a lot of challenges, but makes it through the series. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, especially with his brother Michael's twists and turns. The suspense keeps you hooked until the very end!

Who Is The Main Antagonist In 'The Lincoln Highway'?

2 answers2025-07-01 04:48:00
The main antagonist in 'The Lincoln Highway' is Duchess, a character who embodies chaos and manipulation in a way that feels both timeless and freshly terrifying. What makes Duchess so compelling is how he contrasts with the novel's protagonists—while Emmett and Billy are driven by a desire for redemption and family, Duchess operates on pure self-interest and opportunism. He's not just a villain in the traditional sense; he's a force of disruption who exposes the fragility of the brothers' plans. The way Towles writes Duchess makes him feel like a classic literary antagonist—charismatic enough to draw you in, but with a ruthlessness that keeps you on edge. His actions create this ripple effect that forces the other characters to confront their own moral boundaries, making him central to the novel's tension. What's especially interesting is how Duchess's antagonism isn't purely external. He represents the darker impulses that Emmett could easily succumb to if he weren't so determined to stay on his chosen path. Their dynamic becomes this fascinating study in how people respond to adversity—whether they fold under pressure or find strength in their principles. The novel doesn't paint Duchess as a one-dimensional bad guy; there are moments where you almost sympathize with him, which makes his role as the antagonist all the more effective. Towles gives him enough depth to feel human, but never so much that he loses that edge of danger that makes him such a compelling opposition.
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status