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9th out of 22 books
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In the Lake of the Woods
by
Tim O'Brien
First published to critical acclaim by Houghton Mifflin, Tim Os legacy of violence and warfare, both at home and abroad. When long-hidden secrets about the atrocities he committed in Vietnam come to light, a candidate for the U.S. Senate retreats with his wife to a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota. Within days of their arrival, his wife mysteriously vanishes into the w...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
September 1st 2006
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(first published 1994)
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Readers who don't need all the answers
This is Exhibit A for the concept of "unreliable narrator" - rather than dropping clues along the way to revealing the answer to a mystery (in this case, why and how Kathy Wade, wife of recently disgraced politician John Wade, disappeared), In the Lake of the Woods draws out all of the possible hypotheses for the disappearance, gives evidence to back each one up - and then never gives you a definite resolution. It's a great use of literary technique, and a truly compelling read.
While Denis Johnson's 'Tree of Smoke' may be the single best American novel about the Vietnam war, Tim O'Brien, who has made writing 'Nam stories into something of a cottage industry, has put out three terrific books that, taken as a whole, achieve something far more compelling and significant. The first, 'The Things They Carried,' is an extremely personal look into the dehumanization and commodification of the war, told with faux-bureaucratic detachment as a series of inventory lists. The secon...more
I'm not a writer by any means. I like to think that my head contains somewhat original thoughts. The process of transferring those thoughts into coherently structured paragraphs has always been a challenge for me. But I digress.
I was blown away. Definitely one of the best books I've ever read. It had the potential to be a jumbled, confusing mess of a novel, but O'Brien deftly preserves a perfect balance between mystery and romance. It really is a seamless and fluid combination of bitte...more
I was blown away. Definitely one of the best books I've ever read. It had the potential to be a jumbled, confusing mess of a novel, but O'Brien deftly preserves a perfect balance between mystery and romance. It really is a seamless and fluid combination of bitte...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Tim O'Brien writes pretty much exclusively about Vietnam. In each outing he seems to explore a different facet of the war, or of life afterward.
In the Lake of the Woods is in a way a mystery that serves as a metaphor for post traumatic stress disorder. John Wade, a veteran, and his wife retreat to a cabin in Minnesota after he loses a bid for the United States Senate–Loses after the very events he has spent years hiding from everyone (including himself) are brought to light in the pr...more
In the Lake of the Woods is in a way a mystery that serves as a metaphor for post traumatic stress disorder. John Wade, a veteran, and his wife retreat to a cabin in Minnesota after he loses a bid for the United States Senate–Loses after the very events he has spent years hiding from everyone (including himself) are brought to light in the pr...more
all in all, it was a well told story that ended up to be all that you thought it was going to be. there were a few moments in time when i thought things were going to turn sour, but o'brien did the right thing by keeping it interesting. the basic story is of a senator who looses his wife. physically, emotionally, metaphysically...yes...all of these in some way or another. we spend the diration of the narrative trying to figure out how he lost her, the judgements attached to that statement (f...more
About a war vet-turned-politician and amateur magician who may or may not have killed his wife, this is one of the few books I think I'd appreciate more had I read it after school. But at 17, I was endlessly annoyed by not knowing the "truth" in the story. Arguably, I was easy to annoy back then and I annoyed many people at the same time, like my English teacher, who wasn't impressed by my listing of relevant pages to refer to for various themes in the book. When I got to college an...more
The first 40 pages of this book almost had me put the book down. I couldn't stand the "evidence" chapters. They seemed so gimmicky and lazy. I kept reading however and for the most part enjoyed the rest of the story. [return]There are some truly well written passages, but I just couldn't get past the "footnotes as narrative" mechanism for telling this story. Perhaps it s the history buff in me. Perhaps it s my undergrad memorization of the Chicago Style Writing Manual. What...more
First of all, this book made me realize how much I generally like most books that I read. Because this was a screaming exception.
This is the basic summary of the story: In the Lake of the Woods is O'Brien's portrayal of a historian or biographer's attempt at piecing together the mystery of the disappearance of Kathy Wade. Kathy's husband, John, recently lost a primary election to become Minnesota's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate after his involvement in the My Lai Massacre ...more
This is the basic summary of the story: In the Lake of the Woods is O'Brien's portrayal of a historian or biographer's attempt at piecing together the mystery of the disappearance of Kathy Wade. Kathy's husband, John, recently lost a primary election to become Minnesota's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate after his involvement in the My Lai Massacre ...more
I read this on the recommendation of a friend, who described it in a way that gave me chills.
(view spoiler)...more
(view spoiler)...more
In one respect, at the core of In the Lake of the Woods is an unsolved mystery behind a woman’s disappearance. But also of great focus are the demons lurking within her husband, the politician John Wade whose Vietnam past returns to derail his campaign unexpectedly.
Wade was a child magician who, as a soldier, was nicknamed “sorcerer” and prided himself in making things “disappear.” His involvement in his wife’s disappearance remains an open-ended question by book’s end, but the war in...more
Wade was a child magician who, as a soldier, was nicknamed “sorcerer” and prided himself in making things “disappear.” His involvement in his wife’s disappearance remains an open-ended question by book’s end, but the war in...more
Lmiddle6
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I'm still not sure if I liked this book or not... It was an interesting commentary on vietnam paired with the mystery of a missing person. All in all....different. John Wades character was....weird. He was all messed up in the head, which worsened by being a part of vietnam.
I found the evidence chapters slightly lacking, some of the 'quotes' worked, but....some didn't so much. I did however like how the 'author'...aka narrator who was 'writing' the book was trying to figure out what happened. H...more
I found the evidence chapters slightly lacking, some of the 'quotes' worked, but....some didn't so much. I did however like how the 'author'...aka narrator who was 'writing' the book was trying to figure out what happened. H...more
I have a friend that speaks of a love cave. A place where she is able to hunker down with her lover. Where they could participate in a particularly all encompassing brand of love. The love of vampires. They do not leave the cave. They feast on each other’s blood they piss and shit and fuck in the cave. There is no need for anything else.
O’Brien’s main character, John Wade takes us there. To this cave. We see his deceit as it is played out in the war, his desperate need for...more
O’Brien’s main character, John Wade takes us there. To this cave. We see his deceit as it is played out in the war, his desperate need for...more
When a student I am tutoring described this book to me (as a result of my asking about an assignment concerning it), I wasn't at all interested. However, I make it a habit to read the works my students are reading so I am able to help them better.
I was thrilled by it. I had only read The Things They Carried before this, but I'd rate this one right up there with it.
John Wade has issues. His father committed suicide when John was young, but the two had never been close. ...more
I was thrilled by it. I had only read The Things They Carried before this, but I'd rate this one right up there with it.
John Wade has issues. His father committed suicide when John was young, but the two had never been close. ...more
One could say that this book is a mystery or a thriller, but they would be missing the point. It is about the psychology of a man who has experienced the loss of his father and the brutality of the Vietnam War. I really appreciated that this book was written by a Vietnam veteran, and it felt completely and terrifyingly true and real as a result. I don’t believe that any movie or book that I’ve ever seen/read comes close to conveying to me just what war can do to a human being (except maybe Apoca...more
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As with the other book of his I've read, "The Things They Carried", Tim O'Brien draws heavily on his experiences in Vietnam to create a portrait of contemporary American conflicts in morality. The title refers to a remote vacation spot in northern Minnesota, to which John and Kathy Wade flee after his failed senatorial bid. The unveiling of that story and the reasons for it is told in a series of flashbacks and imagined possibilites interspersed with chapters of supporting "doc...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Tim O'Brien has written a novel that successfully explores the question of what is truth and illusion. Is an event the truth because it happens or is the truth what we believe happens? John Wade and his wife Kathy are recovering from a devastating political defeat at an isolated cabin on the shores of a Minnesota lake. One morning John awakens to find Kathy gone and the mystery begins or so the reader thinks.
Kathy's disappearance is the surface mystery, while the real mystery in this story...more
Kathy's disappearance is the surface mystery, while the real mystery in this story...more
This is a real page turner, creatively beautiful and exquisitely styled. It is an exceedingly unsettling and disturbing tale weaving history and mystery together.
John Wade, is a 41 year old Viet Nam veteran whose recently failed Minnesota senatorial bid shatters his facade of success. As a child John was an illusionist and as an adult politician he honed these skills.
Seeking solace from defeat, John and his wife Kathy vacation in the deep Minnesota woods where John's teth...more
John Wade, is a 41 year old Viet Nam veteran whose recently failed Minnesota senatorial bid shatters his facade of success. As a child John was an illusionist and as an adult politician he honed these skills.
Seeking solace from defeat, John and his wife Kathy vacation in the deep Minnesota woods where John's teth...more
After years of rubbing ripped-up, vaseline covered copies of The Things They Carried and If I Die in a Combat Zone all over my naked, supple flesh, I finally branched out to my boy Timmy O's straight-up fiction. Suffice to say that I now have a new volume to love tenderly.
Seriously. I was a little hesitant to start in on his outright fiction because his fictionesque memiors affected me so much. I just figured that imaginary tales wouldn't hold the same power. And while this one didn'...more
Seriously. I was a little hesitant to start in on his outright fiction because his fictionesque memiors affected me so much. I just figured that imaginary tales wouldn't hold the same power. And while this one didn'...more
I read this in a Postmodern Lit class back in college, but the book stays with me even today. Being in DC resident now, I can appreciate this novel even more--carrying a terrible secret that can devestate your political career. But the book goes beyond this simple idea: it analyzes a marriage and is set in a foggy sort of setting, the couple's lakehouse retreat. The relationships explored and the flashbacks retold are strong points to this book. I found it quite compelling and mysterious.
In the book, In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien,a married couple named John and Kathy visit a cabin in the woods for a quiet get away. Within a few weeks the wife is reported missing!Then after a month of searching, the search party is called off because of no remaining evidence. Because of no evidence people then accuse John of murdering his wife and then covering it up. After being accused John then goes in the lake and looks for any clues, but doesn't find anything. During his searches f...more
excellent book about a minnesota politician who has recently lost the primary for senate and takes a trip to a remote cabin in the woods in northern minnesota. after a few days there, the almost-senator's wife disappears and no one knows what has happened. if you ever look up the lake of the woods on google maps you can see how easy it would be to get lost in that lake.
the main character was in the vietnam war, obviously since it is an O'Brien book, and has some very strange habits. t...more
the main character was in the vietnam war, obviously since it is an O'Brien book, and has some very strange habits. t...more
O'Brien gives you the different options for an ending. Decide for yourself. Whichever you choose, after closing this book, you'd feel glad that you've read it. Extraordinary. There's nothing like this among the 400+ novels that I've read so far.
An ex-Vietnam War army turned politician, John Wade has lost his bid to the Senate. He and his wife, Kathy are debt up to their necks. Married for almost 2 decades, Kathy, 38, has been dreaming of having a baby. Busy with his career, John thinks...more
An ex-Vietnam War army turned politician, John Wade has lost his bid to the Senate. He and his wife, Kathy are debt up to their necks. Married for almost 2 decades, Kathy, 38, has been dreaming of having a baby. Busy with his career, John thinks...more
If one can pardon the analogy, this book made me feel as if I were walking through a candy store with no money in my pocket and sand in my shoes. I wanted to enjoy it. The writing was wonderful in places. I loved the characters, the settings were descriptive and the story was suspenseful in places, like tiny random samples whetting my appetite for more. But I was lacking in my ability to grasp what the writer was selling. I found this a little close to home for personal reasons, but I kept readi...more
This was a very well written book. I don't think that O'Brien can write anything poorly. It is the story of John, an attractive amd morally confused politician whose career ends in a defeat so humiliating that it drives him and his wife to seek refuge in a cabin in the Minnesota woods. During their stay, wife Kathy disappears. We never find out why or where she disappears. There are some hints, although the unsatisfying aspect of this book is that we really never find out what happened to her...more
At the beginning you don't think this book will have Vietnam as a theme. It seems to be about John and Kathy Wade, fresh from a devestating loss in a state-wide election, retreating to the Lake of the Woods to recover their balance. But John's dreams of being elected were ended by a 'secret' that came to light. The secret takes us through John's childhood, and his quest to be loved. The secret takes us through the jungles of Vietnam and a true atrocity. John has always arranged his life with mir...more
Tim O'Brien has been writer-in-residence at my school for some time, and he has also taught in the grad program here which, admittedly, has never failed to make me a wee bit jealous. One benefit though was being able to see him speak last week, which was very interesting.
I know that O'Brien went to Vietnam, and Vietnam indeed is a very recurrent theme in his books. In this book, "In the Lake of the Woods," a politician who has been to Vietnam and suffered through horrific br...more
I know that O'Brien went to Vietnam, and Vietnam indeed is a very recurrent theme in his books. In this book, "In the Lake of the Woods," a politician who has been to Vietnam and suffered through horrific br...more
"Kann die Wahrheit so einfach sein? So schrecklich?"
Eine Wahrheit, die Wahrheit, ist in diesem Buch nicht zu finden. Es gibt viele Wahrheiten. Oder es gibt gar keine Wahrheit, nur Geheimnisse und Lügen. Oder lassen die Puzzlestückchen am Ende doch Schlüsse auf die Wahrheit zu? Vielleicht.
"In the Lake of the Woods" ("Geheimnisse und Lügen") ist der Ort, an dem zwei Menschen spurlos verschwinden. Was ist geschehen? Dazu gibt es Beweise und Hypothesen,...more
Eine Wahrheit, die Wahrheit, ist in diesem Buch nicht zu finden. Es gibt viele Wahrheiten. Oder es gibt gar keine Wahrheit, nur Geheimnisse und Lügen. Oder lassen die Puzzlestückchen am Ende doch Schlüsse auf die Wahrheit zu? Vielleicht.
"In the Lake of the Woods" ("Geheimnisse und Lügen") ist der Ort, an dem zwei Menschen spurlos verschwinden. Was ist geschehen? Dazu gibt es Beweise und Hypothesen,...more
Oh.
This was a hard-hitter.
Viet Nam veteran-turned-politician John Wade and his wife rent a lake house after his shameful defeat in the gubernatorial election. He'd been the golden boy, too, slated to win, until his participation in the My Lai massacre was unearthed, and smashed his his life all to hell.
He was probably going there anyway. I'm just sayin.
In The Lake of the Woods merges the living nightmare of Wade's Viet Nam tour with his already b...more
This was a hard-hitter.
Viet Nam veteran-turned-politician John Wade and his wife rent a lake house after his shameful defeat in the gubernatorial election. He'd been the golden boy, too, slated to win, until his participation in the My Lai massacre was unearthed, and smashed his his life all to hell.
He was probably going there anyway. I'm just sayin.
In The Lake of the Woods merges the living nightmare of Wade's Viet Nam tour with his already b...more
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Tim O'Brien had matriculated at Macalester College. Graduation in 1968 found him with a BA in political science and a draft notice.
O'Brien was against the war, but reported for service and was sent to Vietnam with what has been called the "unlucky" Americal division due to its involvement in the My Lai massacre in 1968, an event which figures prominently in In the Lake of the...more
More about Tim O'Brien...
O'Brien was against the war, but reported for service and was sent to Vietnam with what has been called the "unlucky" Americal division due to its involvement in the My Lai massacre in 1968, an event which figures prominently in In the Lake of the...more
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“I cannot remember much, I cannot feel much. Maybe erasure is necessary. Maybe the human spirit defends itself as the body does, attacking infection, enveloping and destroying those malignancies that would otherwise consume us.”
—
10 people liked it
“("I love you," someone says, and instantly we begin to wonder - "Well, how much?" - and when the answer comes - "With my whole heart" - we then wonder about the wholeness of a fickle heart.) Our lovers, our husbands, our wives, our fathers, our gods - they are all beyond us.”
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