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Title: In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien, Penguin USA Paper ISBN: 0-14-025094-8 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.28 (146 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Spellbinding
Comment: After reading the initial short story that became O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," I found myself interested to read his other material. "In the Lake of the Woods" lives up to the same beautifully, haunting prose that makes up O'Brien's style. The "problem" (and I place this in quotes since I don't really see it as a problem) with O'Brien's work, is that one isn't sure whether he is writing fact or fiction. His memories of Vietnam that make up "The Things They Carried" make one question whether they are fact of fiction. (And I mention this here since the ghosts of Vietnam have their hold over the main character of this novel as well.) The same holds true for "In the Lake of the Woods." O'Brien uses character interviews and references, footnooted in the Evidence chapters to build his narrative to its climax.
"In the Lake of the Woods" tells the story of a disintegrating marriage, that neither partner is ready to admit to. John and Kathy Wade have escaped to a cabin in the woods for two weeks until the world around them has calmed down. John is a politician who was slaughtered in the last election when the dark secrets of his past are revealed. And as a politician, he cannot have any "skeletons" in the closet (how apt that I read this in an election year). The two hardly communicate, their bond is fragile and their future uncertain. To complicate matters, John wakes up one morning to find Kathy missing. The locals suspect foul play; John claims he is innocent, but he is not above reproach. The novel then sets about trying to uncover the mystery not only of Kathy's disappearance, but of John's secret past.
O'Brien has again proven himself a master story-teller. One is immediately enthralled by the main characters and their mysteries. While reading, one is torn between like and dislike for John Wade, known to his war buddies as the magician, and one wonders just what tricks he has up his sleeves. The tricks that O'Brien has are his vivid characters and beautiful prose. His chapters fluctuate between differing points of view to offering evidence to what happened, as well as to what might have happened. O'Brien ends his novel by giving the reader the ending, allowing them to choose the scenario they like best. This is the only way a novel of such depth and intrigue could have ended; leaving a mystery unsolved, as though the "facts" of the story were real. Perhaps they are.
Rating: 4
Summary: Dare to Enter A World Without Resolution
Comment: Tim O'Brien's novel, "In the Lake of the Woods," is a book about evidence and truth. Kathy Wade, the wife of John Wade a politician who was just slaughtered in an election, disappears. The evidence that is left behind is utterly inconclusive, she could have walked away and kept walking forever, she could have been killed of kidnapped by a stranger, or her own husband could have murdered her, but whatever happened, evidence, at least in this novel, does not lead to truth. The facts do not add up to a conclusive resolution. As the novel itself states, "Evidence is not truth. It is only evident. In any case, Kathy Wade is forever missing, and if you require a solution, you will have to look beyond these pages. Or read a different book" (30).
The inconclusiveness of this book both gives the reader a peculiar power and leaves the reader in an uncomfortable place. We are used to books with resolution. We are used to completing a novel and discovering whether the characters have been punished or rewarded. As a country, Americans like neat, tidy things. This is not a neat, tidy book, and if you are looking for that, then just as the text suggests, you may want to read a different book.
That is not to say that this is not a good book. I enjoyed the ambiguity of "In the Lake of the Woods." I found that the inconclusiveness let me imagine my own ending, like a choose your own adventure book from childhood. There is a certain power in that, but there is also the floundering of unknowing. O'Brien never tells us if John Wade kills his wife, he never tells us if she has just walked off to a better place, and that is frustrating. Just as frustrating, in fact, as real life, this is probably why O'Brien chose to write this book. In real life, we often do not know what really happened, there are facts but they are inconclusive, and so we often turn to fiction where things are in black and white. When you reach the last page of most novels any critical reader knows exactly what has happened. In this book, however, only an uncritical reader thinks they know exactly what has happened.
Near the end of the novel the reader's uncertainty is addressed again, "[If everything was known] nothing more would beckon, nothing would tantalize. The thing about Custer is this: no survivors. Hence, eternal doubt, which both frustrates and fascinates. It's a standoff. The human desire for certainty collides with our love of enigma" (266). If the reader can accept this, can accept the fact that this book is both frustrating as well as fascinating, then it's a great read, a real page-turner. If, however, you seek answers in literature, hard and certain facts, then don't even bother with "In the Lake of the Woods" because you will be utterly unsatisfied.
O'Brien presents the courageous reader with a world that very much mirrors our own world, a world where the answers are not clear, the evidence does not always add up, and the truth is not always discovered. For those few willing to adventure into this realm, adventure on, you will be rewarded with a fascinating text.
Rating: 4
Summary: Hununa's take on Tim O'Brien
Comment: Tim O'Brien's In the Lake of the Woods is written in a similar style to the rest of his fiction books. He uses scattered information to get the reader in a similar mindset as the main character. In the Lake of the Woods deals with John Wade, a failed senator dealing with problems in his marrige. A war veteran, John Wade owed his unhappy childhood to his father's suicide. Instead of dealing with these pains openly, he tended to brood and harm less lively beings, such as plants. His wife, Kathy, had dealt with his absense during the war, the constant stalking when she returned, however once John's political career seemed to finish, problems between them increased.Kathy then dissapears, and at this point O'Brien branches off with two different choices for the reader to decide on. Was Kathy's dissapearence her own choice, or did John decide her future? Reading through friend and family interviews, you must decide for yourself. This book is an excellent example of the emotional damage war veterans must deal with, and reading John's solutions may aid the reader in their final descision, as well as dealing with war veterans in their own life.
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Title: Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien ISBN: 0767904427 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Things They Carried by TIM O'BRIEN ISBN: 0767902890 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 29 December, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Tomcat in Love by Tim O'Brien ISBN: 0767902041 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: If I Die in a Combat Zone : Box Me Up and Ship Me Home by TIM O'BRIEN ISBN: 0767904435 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Northern Lights by Tim O'Brien ISBN: 0767904419 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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