Not your everyday "suspenseful thriller"

From its unconventional setup to its ambiguous conclusion, Tim O’Brien brings a certain element of confusion to In the Lake of the Woods that helps visualize the detrimental side effects of the Vietnam War.

At first, we are simply exposed to John Wade’s background in searching for the answer to his wife’s disappearance. Given his background as a Vietnam veteran, we are given pictures of murder in the most unsympathetic way possible. Similar to much of the other context we have read or viewed this semester, we are made to feel as if every soldier was nothing short of merciless to the people in Vietnam. We are additionally provided with snapshots from other aspects of his life such as his dysfunctional childhood to his strange, stalker-like tendencies in grad school to build upon a plot that is enthralling yet unpredictable.

As the novel progresses though, O’Brien provides more than just character development to support Wade’s psychological effects from his experiences at war. Readers are subjected to random flashbacks that make it difficult to decipher whether the events taking place are in the past, present or future. There are chapters dedicated solely to “evidence,” with inconsistent thoughts from other characters that we have no background or any knowledge on to begin with. The author incorporates constant questioning as to ask the reader what they think, even at points where nothing seems clear. Furthermore, we are provided with alternate endings to consider throughout the book. Was John to blame for his wife’s disappearance or was it because of her own careless decisions? Even the end of the novel provides no definite answer, which is perhaps part of O’Brien’s attempt to have the reader draw their own conclusion.

Ultimately, the story’s disoriented style is successful in communicating an aspect of war that has yet to be explored in class thus far. The psychological effects on a Vietnam veteran with a painful past are reflected in a unique approach that surpasses what could be compared to a typical suspenseful thriller.