In the Lake of the Woods

In the Lake of the Woods
1st edition cover
Author(s)	Tim O'Brien
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	War, Mystery novel
Publisher	Penguin Books
Publication date	January 1995
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-14-025094-8 (first edition, hardback)

In the Lake of the Woods (1994) is a novel by Tim O'Brien, author of Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Things They Carried. An example of O'Brien's recurring Vietnam War theme, In the Lake of the Woods follows the struggle of John Wade to deal with a recently failed campaign for the United States Senate. After moving to Lake of the Woods, Minnesota, John discovers one morning that his wife Kathy is missing. Through the use of flashbacks of John's childhood, college years, and Vietnam experiences, as well as testimony and evidence from affected characters, the novel creatively introduces several hypotheses for the disappearance of Kathy Wade, leaving the decision up to the reader.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Setting 3 Characters 3.1 Main characters 3.2 Secondary characters 4 Reception 5 References

Plot summary

The main storyline often branches out to flashbacks of significant events in John Wade's past. John's childhood is constantly referred to as the advent of his persona, Sorcerer. As a child John was frequently abused verbally and emotionally by his alcoholic father, whom to other children seemed the perfect father. John often visited Karra's Studio of Magic, where he bought the Guillotine of Death, purchased by his father. John was devastated after his father's death and channeled his grief into magic. Wade met his future wife Kathy during their college years, becoming intimate with her despite his secretive nature. John spied on Kathy, of which she was aware, just as he was aware of her affair with a dentist. When John was deployed to Vietnam, he and Kathy conversed through letters, some of which frightened Kathy. John became deeply absorbed in his identity as Sorcerer. Charlie Company was involved in a massacre of a village, reminiscent of the real-life My Lai massacre but later, while working a desk job in records, John erased his involvement with the Company. Afterwards, John became lieutenant governor of Minnesota and later ran for the US Senate, with his campaign managed by the business-oriented Tony Carbo. At one point, Kathy has an abortion, despite her great wish to have a baby, because having a child would be problematic for John's career.

After his landslide loss, John and Kathy took a vacation at a cabin in Lake of the Woods. They are continuously troubled by the revelation of John's Vietnam secrets, but pretend to be happy nevertheless. One night, John wakes up to boil a kettle of water for tea. Instead of preparing a drink, he pours the boiling water over a few household plants, reciting "Kill Jesus", which seems to please him. He remembers climbing back into bed with Kathy, but the next morning she's gone. After a day of walking around the area and discovering the boat's absence, John talks to his closest neighbors, the Rasmussens. After some time they call the sheriff and organize a search party. The authorities are suspicious of John's calm demeanor and noninvolvement in the search effort. Kathy's sister joins the effort and John begins to search for Kathy as well. After eighteen days the search party is called off and the investigation into John heats up. With a boat from Claude and supplies from the Mini-Mart, John heads north on the lake. Claude is the last person to talk to the disoriented John, over the boat's radio.

O'Brien introduces a number of theories over the course of the story. Maybe Kathy had sped over the lake too quickly, hit a rough patch of water, and had been violently tossed into the lake, where she drowned. Perhaps she had misnavigated the boat and had become hopelessly lost in the wilderness, only to run out of supplies. Or possibly John had returned to the bedroom with the boiling water and had poured it over her face, scalding her. Afterwards he would have sunk the boat and body in the lake, weighed down by a number of rocks. Or the event might have been John's last great magic trick, a disappearing act. John and Kathy would have planned her disappearance, and to have John join her later on, after the search efforts had been called off, leaving them to a new start at life. O'Brien introduces numerous pieces of evidence to support these theories, and leaves the decision up to the reader. Although the inconclusive ending irritates many readers, O'Brien tries to argue that this is the truest way to tell a story, which is reminiscent of his other book, The Things They Carried.

Setting

The present conflict in the story occurs in late 1986, in northern Minnesota. John and Kathy intentionally choose this setting for its isolation from the outside world, which is desirable to them in their quest to forget the stress and emotion of the failed election. In addition to the immediate setting of the main course of action, the American political environment also pushes into action the story conflict, as well as develops the interaction between Kathy and John. Through the campaign the couple had let their relationship take backseat to the political issues immediately at hand. As they move to Lake of the Woods to relax and redefine their marriage, John and Kathy realize that their paths have drifted farther apart than initially believed. Although John is crushed by his political loss, and Kathy is secretly glad that he will no longer be distracted by the ruthless field. As the two are immersed in the wooded setting, long-time secrets begin to resurface and tensions rise setting up some very interesting theories for Kathy's disappearance.

Characters

Main characters

John Wade - A 41-year-old man at the height of his political career, serves as the central focus of the novel. The lieutenant governor of Minnesota, John was running for the U.S. Senate when he was defeated in a landslide after details of his war actions in Vietnam were uncovered. John and his wife Kathy rent a cottage in Lake of the Woods, Minnesota after the primary to escape the pressures of the outside world. John is repressive of his memory of Vietnam, as well as details of his childhood, including his father's death. It is worth noting that John's alter ego or inner anger is the "Sorcerer".

Kathy Wade - John's wife, has been intimately involved with John since their college days. She has stood by John's side throughout their marriage, despite her fierce inner loathing for the field of politics that serves as John's passion. Kathy is aware that John represses memories of his past, memories that bubble up in John's dreams and subconsciousness. In spite of John's anger and frustration from his loss in a landslide election, Kathy is secretly glad that he will be out of politics and more involved in her life again.

Secondary characters

• An unnamed Narrator, who admits his own unreliability on several occasions. It becomes apparent as the novel continues that he is unconnected to the Wades but has become obsessed with their case, and has built the narrative(s) of the book based on interviews with the surviving characters as well as his own speculation. Like John, he was a soldier in the Vietnam War.
• Ruth Rasmussen, who, along with her husband, are the closest neighbors to the Wades' cottage. When Kathy goes missing Ruth supports John and helps him through the search effort.
• Claude Rasmussen, the husband of Ruth, is the closest thing to a friend John has. John finds several things in common with him and builds a stronger relationship with him through the investigation. Claude helps John prepare his boat and is the last person to contact him before he goes missing.
• Eleanor Wade is the mother of John. She comments on the isolation John experienced as a child, as well as the transformation of his personality from the effect John's father had on him.
• Paul Wade is the father of John who committed suicide in John's childhood. An alcoholic and often abusive father, Paul was nevertheless idolized by John, and consequentially his death devastated John. John always struggled with the notion that Paul didn't offer him affection which affected him throughout his life.
• Patricia S. Hood, the sister of Kathy, who never trusted John. Kathy often confided in her when she could no longer hold in the pressures of her relationship. Patricia assists on the search efforts when she hears the news of her missing sister, and becomes annoyed and suspicious at John's reluctance to get involved with the search.
• Arthur Lux is the sheriff of Lake of the Woods County. He heads the investigation in charge of the search for Kathy Wade.
• Vinny Pearson runs the Texaco station in town while also serving as the police for the general area. Upfront and accusative, Vinny suspects John's guilt from the onset of the search effort and investigation.
• Myra Shaw, Vinny's cousin, is a fat girl who works at the Mini-Mart. She observes John and Kathy fighting while eating dinner and later on witnesses John buying supplies before he disappears.
• Anthony (Tony) Carbo served as John's campaign manager through his political career. He is described as overweight and physically repulsive, and appears only concerned with winning. Though he is not personally attached to John, Tony still felt betrayed that John hid the secrets from Vietnam from him. Tony's physical attraction to Kathy Wade becomes evident, and at one point he makes a reference to masturbating over her.
• Sandra Karra, known to John as the Carrot Lady, owns Karra's Studio of Magic. She speculated that John had a crush on her as a child, because of his frequent visits to the shop and his fascination with her.
• The many men of Charlie Company were mentally deteriorated by the magical land of Vietnam, as well as the lack of a visible enemy. The events at My Lai were a means for them to strike back at what they thought was the enemy.
• PFC Weatherby is a soldier in John's Charlie Company. In the heat of battle John shoots Weatherby in the head and later blames his death on the Viet Cong. It's debatable whether or not John does this intentionally..
• Richard Thinbill begged for John to release the events at My Lai to the authorities, but was persuaded by John not to. He is haunted by the sound of flies in the years after the war and is eventually the person that reveals that John was a member of Charlie Company.

Reception

Ellen Datlow praised the novel lavishly, saying "O'Brien continues to mine the Vietnam War and U.S. involvement in it for riches that he transmutes into art with his beautiful writing and interesting plot structure."^[1]

References

• O'Brien, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods. New York: Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 0-14-025094-8

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