Title: On the Narrative of Healing in George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo

Abstract: Through the soul of the dead Willie Lincoln, George Saunders’ novel Lincoln in the Bardo takes readers to the Bardo—an intermediate state between life and death when the soul is not connected to a body. The novel reflects the tough state of the American Civil War in contrast to the warmth of father-son relationship through what bulks of ghosts have said. This essay takes the narrative of healing as the research frame and considers Lincoln’s journey in Bardo as a healing process through the construction of safety, the reconstruction of the core of stories, and the establishment of the commonality of life. At the junction of life and death, through the unique lingual experiments, Saunders shows the contemplation of life and the reflection on the philosophy of death.

Keywords: George Saunders, Lincoln in the Bardo, narrative of healing, commonality

Author: Xi Xi, Assistant Professor, School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2025.02.010