In the Lake of the Woods

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Summary: It was splendid.
Review: It keeps you hypothesizing even after your done

Rating:
Summary: amazingly crafted, framed to perfetion
Review: Tim Obrien's, In the lake of the woods, is the most exceptionally crafted work of fictin/ historical fiction that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The mechanics Obrien employes by telling a narrative in the third person, then using a direct address to the reader in the first by making a footnote a literary device in the chapters titled, "Evidence," is an uncanny leap in redefining contemporary fiction. In the lake of the woods is a burning page-turner, and a must read.

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Summary: Life is more than who we were. . .
Review: An amazing thought provoking novel that leaves the reader shocked an ashamed to be human. Brilliantly brings to surface the atrocities that man has commited and just scratches the surface of how deep humanity can sink. A wonderful read that any breathing, thinking human should read.

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Summary: Extremely unique and brilliantly written
Review: The most unique work of fiction I have ever read, this book is a must read. The style is unlike anything I have ever read, seen, or heard about as there are three different chapter styles: evidence, hypothesis, and story (flashbacks and present). The point of view is O'Brien's own voice which makes the book more personal. Everyone will love this book.

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Summary: Metaphoric structure in The Lake in the Woods
Review: The most interesting thing about this book to me was the analogy between the investigation into the branches of the lake with the psychological investigation of the main character. It was as if we were exploring his brain in a boat. I did not at all mind not knowing, I found that exciting.But a book with a metaphoric structure like this has a coherence like the coherence of the universe which enables the book to seem full and complete even when there are great mysteries. I don't agree that O'Brien has not made progress in his work. I think that compared to this book, Going after Cacchiato was vague and fanciful, like a dream. This book is solid and metaphapysical and grounded in the verities of the solid human psyche.

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Summary: This book illicits more questions than answers
Review: "In the Lake of the Woods" is a cool book. John Wade is a complex character that in more ways than one embodies the personalities of our people todays. Because the book doesn't reveal the truth behind the missing Kathy the fun is in the information about the married couple. I especially liked the part about the evidence and footnotes because it was so different.

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Summary: Falling from Grace
Review: One would think, perchance, that John Wade was falling from grace. From wence he came, he shall return. Perhaps an excursion back to the root of his problematic episodes, Vietnam, would cleanse him of his ever-present emotional instability.

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Summary: Relative truth.
Review: I thought the book had a certain aspect to it, that I had never experienced before. You knew how it was going to end from the beginning... which just goes on to prove that the ending wasn't the story. The plot wasn't the story. The questions were the story. The truths that we want to believe in our lives become actual truths, even if they are illusions. Everything is relative. This review is relative. Maybe it meant something to me, only because it had truth for me. I think it was beautifully written, from the heart, and true to O'Brian. Negative reviews are by people who just didn't see the meaning, the theme, the point beyond all words, plots and literary techniques: the truth just doesn't exist. Life is illusions.

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Summary: Have a Happy!
Review: This is an intense collage of illusions and dillusions meant to free the mind of doubt and remorse for war veterans. This shows to go ya that you don't need a war to become mentally disoriented from the bulk of society. Values and morals are not always defined by life threatening circumstances. Have a Holiday!

Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking character study
Review: More than a book about Vietnam, or politics, or a marriage in crisis, "In the Lake of the Woods" is a brilliantly conceived and executed character study. John Wade resembles each of us more than we might be comfortable admitting. By revealing this man slowly, from oblique angles -- without ever fully answering the questions he raises -- Tim O'Brien simply acknowledges that we can never fully understand another person as well as the tidy conventions of fiction suggest we can. The biggest mystery in this story is not what happened between the Wades, but who they are and how they became themselves. The adventurous style of providing footnoted fragments of evidence may fall short in a few places; it is intriguing, however, and it is usually effective. The device also underscores the book's central premise: that all we can do in the search for truth is examine the evidence and choose our own hypotheses -- about John Wade, or about life.