this is my first time to hear about the bardo, so it's somewhat like Purgatory, right? I personally don't like reading contemporary literature that uses Victorian prose because i find it glaringly inauthentic. Love to hear your thoughts about this book :)
I guess I would liken it more to "limbo," although verrrry loosely... It was definitely unpleasant like Dante's Purgatory, but the characters had a certain amount of liberty to do what they wanted, and some of them were quite horrible to each other. :P
I don’t completely understand the criticisms of it being depressing or the supposed cruelty to the Reverend. I’d never consider a book being sad, even if especially so, as a negative. The fact that it can stir strong emotion, even “negative” ones seem more so a strength. I also don’t remember the especial presence of sex in the novel (though I read this at least three months ago, so my memory might be wrong) Belvins and Vollman both had sexual backstories, but I don’t remember any others.
Coming from a religious perspective, I may be particularly sensitive to portrayals of clergy in literature. But even apart from that, from a character-building standpoint, I still think he was treated poorly by the author. There were other examples of pervasive sex in the book (at one point IIRC some of the characters engage in a threesome), but I don't have a copy at hand to cite pages at the moment. The mental image of the "big-membered" Vollman occupying Lincoln's body was the tip of the iceberg for me.
Greetings from Turkey. This is the first video I watched from you. I finished reading this book a few hours ago. It was a gift from my bf on my birthday. I read other books by Saunders . I was very curious about this novel but to be honest I am very disappointed. I am happy to hear your thoughts.. I wish I could read it easily .. 😁😁 I just like some parts of the book. Like seeing dead people and hearing their stories. Thats all. Thank you for the review.
Just read this for a class. You explained my thoughts perfectly. I didn't like the book. I thought that a lot of aspects were disrespectful to religions, the dead, and people of specific racial backgrounds. There was also a lot of unnecessary descriptions of sex and rape. Nothing seemed to be built upon, only briefly mentioned as a sort of filler.
I appreciate your comments. The style of this book took some getting used to. Some called it genius. Meh. Once I discovered that most of Saunders' citations were fictional I did admire his ability to conjure them. But being a fan of Lincoln and having read several biographies of him I was also disappointed that the citations were not authentic. I read this book for a book club, but would not keep it on my personal bookshelf of favorites.
To each his own, I loved it ❤️
this is my first time to hear about the bardo, so it's somewhat like Purgatory, right? I personally don't like reading contemporary literature that uses Victorian prose because i find it glaringly inauthentic. Love to hear your thoughts about this book :)
I guess I would liken it more to "limbo," although verrrry loosely... It was definitely unpleasant like Dante's Purgatory, but the characters had a certain amount of liberty to do what they wanted, and some of them were quite horrible to each other. :P
I don’t completely understand the criticisms of it being depressing or the supposed cruelty to the Reverend. I’d never consider a book being sad, even if especially so, as a negative. The fact that it can stir strong emotion, even “negative” ones seem more so a strength.
I also don’t remember the especial presence of sex in the novel (though I read this at least three months ago, so my memory might be wrong) Belvins and Vollman both had sexual backstories, but I don’t remember any others.
Coming from a religious perspective, I may be particularly sensitive to portrayals of clergy in literature. But even apart from that, from a character-building standpoint, I still think he was treated poorly by the author.
There were other examples of pervasive sex in the book (at one point IIRC some of the characters engage in a threesome), but I don't have a copy at hand to cite pages at the moment. The mental image of the "big-membered" Vollman occupying Lincoln's body was the tip of the iceberg for me.
Greetings from Turkey. This is the first video I watched from you. I finished reading this book a few hours ago. It was a gift from my bf on my birthday. I read other books by Saunders . I was very curious about this novel but to be honest I am very disappointed. I am happy to hear your thoughts.. I wish I could read it easily .. 😁😁 I just like some parts of the book. Like seeing dead people and hearing their stories. Thats all. Thank you for the review.
Thanks, Feride! Yes, I liked the concept of the book, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. :) Glad to hear I'm not alone there!
Just read this for a class. You explained my thoughts perfectly. I didn't like the book. I thought that a lot of aspects were disrespectful to religions, the dead, and people of specific racial backgrounds. There was also a lot of unnecessary descriptions of sex and rape. Nothing seemed to be built upon, only briefly mentioned as a sort of filler.
Oof, required reading? My condolences... :/
I'm an hour in and I can't stand it! Hoping the style changes. Here to find out.
I appreciate your comments. The style of this book took some getting used to. Some called it genius. Meh. Once I discovered that most of Saunders' citations were fictional I did admire his ability to conjure them. But being a fan of Lincoln and having read several biographies of him I was also disappointed that the citations were not authentic. I read this book for a book club, but would not keep it on my personal bookshelf of favorites.
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