Lincoln in the Bardo — George Saunders (2017)

George Saunders's debut novel — narrated by the restless dead in a cemetery where Abraham Lincoln's son Willie has just been interred — is the most formally innovative American novel of the decade: assembled from over 160 distinct voices, including real historical sources and invented spirits, it uses the fantastical premise to explore grief, political leadership, and the nature of consciousness. Winner of the Man Booker Prize, 2017.