Marsha answers “I really tried, but istening to this book...”

Cate Poe asked this question about Lincoln in the Bardo:

I really tried, but istening to this book is impossible. I want to appreciate the voices, the story, but I can't get past the format. Like wading through footnotes. Is it possible to ignore the format when you READ it? About to throw in the towel and get a refund.

Marsha I cannot imagine this as an audiobook. Much of the message is also contained in the style -- including the spacing on the pages, the attributions for …moreI cannot imagine this as an audiobook. Much of the message is also contained in the style -- including the spacing on the pages, the attributions for the speakers/writers, the text itself. I think most readers, myself included, hit a stride and settle into the slow, measured, deliberate rhythm of what Saunders and his characters reveal as they each speak. The bardo is a fractured, frightening place, but not nearly as frightening as what the characters each individually worry might be waiting for them -- beyond the fence, in the light, wherever.

Do yourself a favor. Read the book. Then listen to it. It will make far more sense to you.(less)

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Lincoln in the Bardo

by George Saunders

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