Clever little book.
Set in the first day or two after the death of Lincoln's son, during a difficult time in the Civil War. The story takes place in the cemetery where the boy's body in placed. Except for Lincoln and a watchman, all the characters are essentially dead. They live in the confined world of the cemetery, which is portrayed as a kind of afterlife zone between life and death. The characters are a mix of historical times and social classes. The snippets of their lives explore many things - social realities of other times, the racism of American society, American history of the time, cruelty and kindness, strange ways to die. All of the characters are essentially lingering in a nether world, unable to let go of some part of their former life - children, trauma, unfulfilled desire, love, social prestige, past sins. Though the stories are not heroic, the characters take on a poignant reality.
The migration to the true afterlife (ie. heaven or hell) is very creatively portrayed.
Whenever Lincoln or a historical event appears, it is described by a selection of quotations from letters and journals written by people of the time. Clever touch.
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