b#1 iNEW YORK TIMES/i BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZEbrbrThe b devastatingly moving (iPeople/i) /bfirst novel from the author of iTenth of December/i: a moving and original father-son story featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast of supporting characters, living and dead, historical and inventedbr/bbrbbbbNamed One of iPaste/ib /bs Best Novels of the Decade Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by iThe Washington Post, USA Today, /iand Maureen Corrigan, NPR  One of iTime/i s Ten Best Novels of the Year A iNew York Times /iNotable Book bbbb  bbbbOne of iO: The Oprah Magazine/i s Best Books of the Year/b/b/b/b/b/b/b/b /bbr/bbr/b/bFebruary 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. My poor boy, he was too good for this earth, the president says at the time. God has called him home. Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold his boy s body.brbrFrom that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie s soul.bribrLincoln in the Bardo/i is an astonishing feat of imagination and a bold step forward from one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Formally daring, generous in spirit, deeply concerned with matters of the heart, it is a testament to fiction s ability to speak honestly and powerfully to the things that really matter to us. Saunders has invented a thrilling new form that deploys a kaleidoscopic, theatrical panorama of voices to ask a timeless, profound question: How do we live and love when we know that everything we love must end?bbrbr A luminous feat of generosity and humanism. Colson Whitehead, iThe/i iNew York Times Book Review/i/bbrbrb A masterpiece. i /iZadie Smith/b