In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O’Brien

Retrieved from: the library
(0395488893), 1994
Suggested by: on my "books to read" list
My Ratings: 8 Merit, 8 Interest, 6 Fun

The bare bones: a politician who has just gotten destroyed in an election after his past catches up with him goes on vacation with his wife. They rent a cottage on a lake in far northern Minnesota. A week later, his wife disappears along with the motorboat that goes with the cottage. What happened? Did he kill her and then stage the disappearance? Did she leave him when she found him killing plants in the middle of the night? Did she just take a midnight boat trip and get lost? What is truth?

The story revolves around how people can lie to themselves and each other, practicing denial just to get through their days. And how it eventually can’t be pushed down anymore. What are people capable of doing and being under different circumstances? And can the rest of us really know what’s going on in the center of our loved ones? O’Brien doesn’t really answer any of these questions. He’s just asking.

This is a creepy, fascinating book about Vietnam and its aftereffects. I’m glad I’d read something about My Lai before this. The first time O’Brien mentions Calley, I just about came out of my chair. Interesting style: faux-interviews mixed with actual interviews and testimony, and citations for real books on various subjects.

I’ll never buy an iron teakettle.