It's a rare thing when a writer seems to succeed in carving out a totally new form, not least when they're ostensibly working in the realm of historical fiction! That is what Saunders has achieved however, and this, his first full-length work following four highly acclaimed collections of short stories, is one of the most exciting releases of 2017 so far. 'The Bardo' of the title is the metaphysical plane of Tibetan Buddhism where spirits are said to reside before they realise they have died, 'Lincoln' is Willie Lincoln, infant son of President Abraham, and Saunders' oral-history-novel-play floats largely outside comfortable description. One to be experienced as much as read.

Published by Bloomsbury on March 3rd, 2017