Judging from the three-minute clip, George Saunders’ upcoming Lincoln In The Bardo will be both a masterpiece of postmodern storytelling and an audiobook revelation. In the clip, several characters and a narrator cobble together a scene as seen through their differing perspectives and, possibly, agendas: A boy passes through his father (presumably Abraham Lincoln), who walks to the house where his son lies in a coffin. Nick Offerman, in a perfect casting decision, plays a character who insists that Lincoln shows steely resolve, while another voice insists he’s sobbing the whole time. If we weren’t excited enough to read Saunders’ first full-length novel, color us gobsmacked after just a hint of what kind of story the audiobook promises to tell.
Listen here:
The full bill includes:
- Nick Offerman as HANS VOLLMAN
- David Sedaris as ROGER BEVINS III
- Carrie Brownstein as ISABELLE PERKINS
- George Saunders as THE REVEREND EVERLY THOMAS
- Miranda July as MRS. ELIZABETH CRAWFORD
- Lena Dunham as ELISE TRAYNOR
- Ben Stiller as JACK MANDERS
- Julianne Moore as JANE ELLIS
- Susan Sarandon as MRS. ABIGAIL BLASS
- Bradley Whitford as LT. CECIL STONE
- Bill Hader as EDDIE BARON
- Megan Mullally as BETSY BARON
- Rainn Wilson as PERCIVAL “DASH” COLLIER
- Jeff Tweedy as CAPTAIN WILLIAM PRINCE
- Kat Dennings as MISS TAMARA DOOLITTLE
- Jeffrey Tambor as PROFESSOR EDMUND BLOOMER
- Mike O’Brien as LAWRENCE T. DECROIX
- Keegan-Michael Key as ELSON FARWELL
- Don Cheadle as THOMAS HAVENS
- Patrick Wilson as STANLEY “PERFESSER” LIPPERT
- Kirby Heyborne as WILLIE LINCOLN
- Mary Karr as MRS. ROSE MILLAND
- Cassandra Campbell as Your Narrator
