Vigil by George Saunders
Set over the course of a single night, Vigil unfolds at the deathbed of K. J. Boone, a powerful and fabulously wealthy oil executive who remains serenely proud of his life’s work, despite its consequences. Watching over him is Jill ‘Doll’ Blaine, a spirit whose role is to comfort the dying and guide them peacefully towards the afterlife. Boone, however, is no ordinary case. Certain he has nothing to regret, he resists consolation, and the vigil takes an unexpected turn.
As the night deepens, Boone’s bedroom fills with strange and unsettling visitors, both living and dead, human and animal. These apparitions draw attention to the wider impact of his actions, while Jill herself is forced to confront her own past and the limits of her duty. What begins as a routine passage between life and death becomes a reckoning with legacy, responsibility and the true meaning of compassion.
Written in George Saunders’ characteristically inventive style, Vigil blends dark humour with moral seriousness. Echoing the spectral structure of Lincoln in the Bardo, this slim but ambitious novel tackles corporate power, environmental damage and the stories people tell themselves in order to live comfortably with their choices. Thought provoking and unsettling, Vigil is less interested in easy forgiveness than in what it means to bear witness at the end of a life, and what remains when certainty finally begins to falter.
