In the Lake of the Woods

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Summary: Excellent, intriguing book.
Review: Tim and I both attended Macalester College and graduated in 1968. We all struggled with the dilemna that was and is Vietnam. I have found Tim's work to be the best evocation of the uncertainty and fear of that era." In the Lake of the Woods" is especially effective in presenting the effects of the horror of war on an individual using an open -ended, inconclusive ending. The reader is drawn into the mystery with no satisfactory conclusion just as Wade is drawn into the lake of the woods and just as we all were drawn into the Vietnam war with no satisfactory conclusion. I also recommend "On the Rainy River"as an especially effective story from "The Things They Carried" demonstrating the ambivalence of our generation about this awful war

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Summary: Resonates, long after the last page has been turned...
Review: In the Lake of the Woods is amongst the most luminous and extraordinary books to have appeared in many years. O'Brien's bravery in presenting us with a narrator we never entirely sympathise with, together with the book's adventurous structure, never fail to disguise the horrors at the heart of the real story. If nothing else, the fractured testimonies of John Wade's colleagues at Mai Lai stay with the reader in much the same way as they stayed in John Wade's conscience.
(As a European, the great shame is that this wonderful book has sunk almost without trace on this side of the Atlantic.

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Summary: A Great Book
Review: It was a great book. I liked the fact that the reader has to fill in so much. It brought to life the struggle of coming to grips with the whole Vietnam experience. You just can't pin it down. O'Brien has captured a metaphor which describes a great deal of life. It is certainly true that this book makes it clear that it is impossible to escape one's pas

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Summary: Hey guys, it's NOT that great!
Review: I must dissent from previous comments, the book is interesting, a page turner, but quickly forgotten (I feel). It reminded me of Fargo, the movie, with the bleak Minnesota landscapes, with miles and miles of trackless nature spreading off in all directions. This time its the gigantic lake and the impenetrable forest around it. There are only a handful of characters, and the central couple have lost their bearings, and are drifting aimlessly. There are some conscious parallels to Heart of Darkness, but this time without the Horror. The "narrator" is ambiguous about everything. The lack of concrete facts or events is the central theme of the book, but, for me, such a theme is like lite beer, less taste, and less filling. Good, not great

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Summary: The lake: hauntingly powerful metaphor for the mind.
Review: Wow...From page one, I was taken by O'Brien's skilled handling of prose and imaging. His blending of reality and fantasy works to show us the complexities of the human heart and mind. On page 280, I finally broke down and cried

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Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: it's not often that I find a book that I can't put down.Living in NY, there are always things to do! Yet, when I beganIn the Lake of the Woods, I truely HAD to finish it. The style is unique; you are never sure which account to believe. It draws you and puts you into the story, because only you can decide what actually happened. The plot is both disturbing and highly interesting, and I recommend this book to everyone I know! Take the time to buy it, because you'll definitely take the time to read it!

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Summary: This book is written from a soul, not an outline.
Review: A man reaches his hand out, through a bank of fog. Is he the rescuer or is he the rescuee or is he wanting to hold hands and cry with another soul. Tim O'Brien simply will walk into your life, and in about 300 pages, he will walk out again, and if you set his words down, or put them back on the library shelf, without sharing them with someone, it will feel like a betrayl. This book will change you, maybe for a brief moment, maybe forever. The characters are alive, the scenery is tangible, the words are simple. I "dare" you to read this. Thank you Tim

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Summary: Disturbing...it sticks with you
Review: This book stayed in my mind long after I finished reading it. It was disturbing, creatively written, and very engaging. It read like something straight out of the headlines, and I had trouble putting it down. I can't wait for O'Brien's next work

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Summary: This is an excellent mystery novel.
Review: Tim O'Brien seems to keep coming up with better and better books each time he publishes one. _In The Lake Of The Woods_ rasies many questions. One of which is can you really hide or run from the past? John Wade tries to do both of those. After being involved in the My Lai Massacre, John tries to change his records so no one will know he was there. But as always, there was some sort of leak. John also tries to run by not admitting to it. More questions raised by the book would be what happens when two people love each other very much? Could it lead to death, or just disapearence? The way Tim handles this book is excellent. He presents the reader with evidence, and forces them to draw their on conclusions. Mr. O'Brien himself doesn't know exactly how the book ends

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Summary: A rivoting read
Review: I could't put this book down. And then I wanted everyone around me to read it because I could't stop thinking about it. A psychological mystery of multiple realities, it pulls the reader in and then asks us to come to our own conclusions about the past as well as the present. In one sense, this is an easy read because it moves quickly. But there is nothing easy about the questions asked or the realities which are challenged. I loved this book