Beginning Quote by George Saunders
![“The beginning [of Lincoln in the Bardo] is strange, and I did a lot of work calibrating that so that a reader with a certain level of patience would get through it and in the nick of time start to figure out what was going on. In a short book, you can do that.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9f9/george-saunders-317_beginning_the-beginning-of-lincoln-in-the-bardo-is_3025267.jpg)
“The beginning [of Lincoln in the Bardo] is strange, and I did a lot of work calibrating that so that a reader with a certain level of patience would get through it and in the nick of time start to figure out what was going on. In a short book, you can do that.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: Lincoln in the Bardo, 2017
Patience and careful pacing help readers navigate complex, surreal narratives.
In simple terms: Slow reading aids understanding of strange stories.
Key Takeaway
Read deliberately, embrace patience.
Themes
literature
patience
complexity
Mood
thoughtful
calm
Type
analytical
educational
When to use this quote
- academic study
- book clubs
- personal reading
- creative writing
Key Concepts
narrative structure
reader engagement
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you handle confusing texts?
- What strategies improve comprehension?
A Different Perspective
Fast reading can miss depth.
![“From the beginning [of the Lincoln in the Bardo], I actually had it in mind not to write a novel. I'd kind of gotten past that point where I felt bad for never having written a novel, even to where I felt really good about it, like I was a real purist.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/843/george-saunders-317_books_from-the-beginning-of-the-lincoln-in-the_3136511.jpg)
![“There was one sequence of days [making Lincoln in the Bardo] when I had halfway decided to use the historical nuggets, but I wasn't quite sure it would work. I'd be in my room for six or seven hours, cutting up bits of paper with quotes and arranging them on the floor, with this little voice in my…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e44/george-saunders-317_arranging_there-was-one-sequence-of-days-making-li_3016056.jpg)
![“[Lincoln in the Bardo] is not a long book. And that meant I could obsess over it and live in it both backwards and forwards and hyper-control everything.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/afc/george-saunders-317_backwards_lincoln-in-the-bardo-is-not-a-long-book_2176474.jpg)
![“While writing this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], [idea of inclusion] occurred to me, you either believe in the Constitution or you don't. If you do, it's intense in what it wants of us.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/367/george-saunders-317_believe_while-writing-this-book-lincoln-in-the-b_2048122.jpg)
![“As the writer of this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], what I loved was the feeling of having so many surprises come at the end that I hadn't really planned or planted.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/869/george-saunders-317_book_as-the-writer-of-this-book-lincoln-in-th_507145.jpg)
![“The book says [Lincoln in the Bardo],"I really need this sci-fi device of a ghost inhabiting another person." You say okay kind of begrudgingly. So the structure seemed informed by need and efficiency.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/336/george-saunders-317_book_the-book-says-lincoln-in-the-bardo-i-rea_759066.jpg)
![“Whole swaths of the book [Lincoln in the Bardo] are made up of verbatim quotes from various historical sources, which I cut up and rearranged to form part of the narrative.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f08/george-saunders-317_book_whole-swaths-of-the-book-lincoln-in-the_1268701.jpg)
![“The last page of [Lincoln in the Bardo] - without giving too much away - involves somebody entering somebody else. Not in a sexual way. But it says one of the simplest things you could ever say, which is that we must try and be inside each other. We must have some kind of feeling for each other…” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bae/zadie-smith-584_entering_the-last-page-of-lincoln-in-the-bardo-wi_1986495.jpg)
![“Something in me was changed by Lincoln in the Bardo, and the great sublime/grotesque risk of [George Saunders'] ghosts was a part of it.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c50/zadie-smith-584_changed_something-in-me-was-changed-by-lincoln-i_2919261.jpg)
