In the Lake of the Woods

A Novel

Tim O'Brien

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Year: 2006
• eBook ISBN:
  9780547527048
• Print ISBN:
  9780395488898

A politician's past war crimes are revealed in this psychologically haunting novel by the National Book Award–winning author of The Things They Carried.
 
Vietnam veteran John Wade is running for senate when long-hidden secrets about his involvement in wartime atrocities come to light. But the loss of his political fortunes is only the beginning of John's downfall. A retreat with his wife, Kathy, to a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota only exacerbates the tensions rising between them. Then, within days of their arrival, Kathy mysteriously vanishes into the watery wilderness.
 
When a police search fails to locate her, suspicion falls on the disgraced politician with a violent past. But when John himself disappears, the questions mount—with no answers in sight. In this contemplative thriller, acclaimed author Tim O'Brien examines America's legacy of violence and warfare and its lasting impact both at home and abroad.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Author’s Note
• How Unhappy They Were
• Evidence
• The Nature of Loss
• What He Remembered
• Hypothesis
• Evidence
• The Nature of Marriage
• How the Night Passed
• Hypothesis
• The Nature of Love
• What He Did Next
• Evidence
• The Nature of the Beast
• Hypothesis
• What the Questions Were
• Evidence
• The Nature of Politics
• Hypothesis
• What Was Found
• Evidence
• The Nature of the Spirit
• Hypothesis
• Where They Looked
• Hypothesis
• Evidence
• The Nature of the Dark
• Hypothesis
• How He Went Away
• The Nature of the Angle
• Evidence
• Hypothesis
• About the Author
• Footnotes