In the Lake of the Woods Audiobook By Tim O'Brien cover art

In the Lake of the Woods

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In the Lake of the Woods

By: Tim O'Brien
Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
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On a lake deep in the Minnesota woods, Kathy Wade comforts her husband John, a rising political star, after a devastating electoral defeat in which he's been pursued by rumors of the atrocities he committed in Vietnam. But it is clear that something is horribly wrong between them - too much has been hidden. Then Kathy vanishes, along with their boat.

Pursued by rumors of the atrocities he committed in Vietnam, a politician and his wife seek refuge in a cabin in Minnesota, where a mystery unfolds, in this widely acclaimed, best-selling novel.

©1995 Tim O'Brien (P)2011 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Military Mystery Political Psychological Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense War & Military Espionage Minnesota Marriage Scary

Critic reviews

"A beautifully written, haunting novel that evokes lives in deep crisis." ( Booklist)
"O'Brien develops several maddeningly plausible explanations, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions in this dark but wonderful novel that should gain him a host of new fans. For fiction collections both large and small." ( Library Journal)
"Was she murdered? Did she run away? Instead of answering these questions, O'Brien raises even more as he slowly reveals past lives and long-hidden secrets. Included in this third-person narrative are 'interviews' with the couple's friends and family as well as footnoted excerpts from a mix of fictionalized newspaper reports on the case and real reports pertaining to historical events - a mélange that lends the novel an eerie sense of verisimilitude. If Kathy's disappearance is at the heart of this work, then John's involvement in a My Lai-type massacre in Vietnam is its core, and O'Brien uses it to demonstrate how wars don't necessarily end when governments say they do." (Amazon.com review)
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I read this book nearly a decade ago and decided to try it in audiobook form. The entire middle part of the book feels a bit airy, but it all comes together beautifully at the end. I recommend all of Tim O’Brien’s books, save for July, July and Dad’s Maybe Book since I haven’t read those.

Solid Tim O’Brien Novel

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This book is complicated but interesting. There are so many flashbacks and possible story lines and interviews for quotes though that I’m sure I need to read it myself or listen to it again to truly understand it’s intricacies.

May need a second go

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The story takes some time to get used to but gives you characters to both love and hate.

Fascinating structure, unusual and effective.

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I loved every minute of it. this book really made me think about the complexity of the human mind and what we are all capable of as human beings, good and evil.

spell bound

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What did you like best about In the Lake of the Woods? What did you like least?

Attention to detail, I live by the lake. The ending could have had more punch

Who was your favorite character and why?

The neighbor

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

nothing

Do you think In the Lake of the Woods needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, the ending was weak need clifacation

Any additional comments?

no

Lake of the woods

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Must experience this story. Own the book as well as listened. Check out "The things they carry".

Mystery for sure.

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I listened to this book for a Literature class. I have read several short stories from the same author. I had a hard time with this one because it felt very redundant to me in comparison to his other works.

Too much story for me

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The book had some grisly and graphic descriptions of the Vietnam war that were hard to listen to at times. But the story kept me guessing and ended perfectly.

Kept me guessing

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I have really gotten to like Mr. O’Brien. This book possesses a quality J’adore when it’s done well, and this one, for me, excels. It leaves nothing but unanswered questions to chew on. It’s easy to read this with the modern women’s movement perspective and say this is nothing but the tale of a gaslighting predator, and indeed I’m sympathetic to that view. It’s easy, too, to reduce it to a tale of a monster, another view to which I’m sympathetic. But the book doesn’t provide easy answers, and moreover what I love about it is its exploration of the My Lai massacre; it grapples with it, and it’s an incredibly ripe topic.

At my age I’ve always marveled at how Vietnam seems not to have reverberated. Notwithstanding that many who join the military do so as the least evil option for earning a livelihood, many others seem to have not noticed the wicked and misguided - very recent - history of the U.S.’s application of its military might.

I remember a local news crew came to my middle school to interview kids who’d been affected by the war. We were bounteous; my father and uncle were of age, my uncle was exposed to agent orange and his knees were shot (not literally…) but other kids had lost their dads.

Ten years later and boy howdy did we race to sign up, and, very tragically, the rest is history, or should I say a tragic reverberation of history. Even history that hadn’t been around long enough to live up to the name, as yet.

Wie need more reminders of what war really is. That although military service is vital and noble, under poor leadership it can become undone. That’s what this book was for me, and its unresolved questions (beyond the main plot) will haunt me a long time to come.

Wrestling with My Lai

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I liked the gradual revelations of John’s past, mixed with hypotheses about what happened with Cathy. It keeps you guessing all the way.

This is a unique type of Vietnam novel: dealing with the mental and moral fallout in a mesmerizing thriller.
Only 2 drawbacks of this book: the cursing + the quotes at the beginning of several chapters were long-winding.

I was glued to my car seat while listening to this audiobook. What a story!

Vietnam meets Houdini meets murder mystery

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