Books & Brunch to discuss award-winning 'Lincoln in the Bardo,' May 19

The National Press Club's Books and Brunch series will be discussing "Lincoln in the Bardo" by George Saunders at noon on Saturday, May 19, in The Fourth Estate. Saunder's won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for this novel, only the second American to win this award.

The novel is a combination of film script and Lincoln-focused scrapbook, alternating between ghost dialogues and excerpts from Civil War historical accounts. It begins with the death of President Abraham Lincoln's son, Willie, and the grief stricken father's visits to the borrowed crypt where Willie is interred at Georgetown's Oak Hill Cemetery. It depicts a ferocious and sometimes comic struggle over Willie's spirit while he is in the Bardo, the Tibetan Buddhist transition from death to rebirth, during which one's next life.

Books and Brunch is open to all Club members and their guests. Lunch may be ordered off the restaurant's menu. It is not mandatory to read the book - plenty to learn from hearing the discussion. If you are able to attend, please contact Fay Iudicello at [email protected] or call her at (703) 989-4503 by noon on Thursday, May 17. We want to ensure adequate seating and service for all attendees.