In the Lake of the Woods - At the Bottom, it Seems!

I don't have many notes about In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O'Brien. We read it before the notetaking took hold. My daughter was the one who suggested the book to me. I nominated it and the group selected it.

In an online conversation with my daughter, I old her "...everyone in the book club is calling it strange..." The responded that the Vietnam descriptions seemed very real, and she called the book "disturbing." She also said she found the main character, John, likable.

Then, in 2005, I visited the actual lake, in Minnesota, with my family. Here is what I wrote then to the book club mailing list:

I went to Minnesota and visited the Lake of the Woods! Our book group read the novel by the same name a few years ago. It was special to go there after reading and discussing the book...you never know when your book group will interface with the rest of your life! The lake is huge. It didn't seem mysterious, though, just big. The weather was clear and sunny, but it was chilly. I needed a jacket and couldn't imagine swimming, though there were some children in the water. The town in MN by the lake is Warroad. It's a small town, about 7000 people. The big business in town is Marvin doors and windows. There are several large Marvin buildings. People joke that the town should be called Marvin. There really isn't anything else there. By the lake, there is a big parking lot, a short pier, a small outdoor lookout deck up some stairs, a restaurant, and a gift shop. I guess the big deal on the lake is fishing. I think the lake freezes in the winter and they go ice fishing.