John Wade is a Vietnam vet, probably suffering from PTS, who has managed to sublimate his experience enough to run for the state legislature and Lieutenant Governor and win. But then he decides to run for the U.S. senate, and his past catches up with him.
You see, John Wade was at the My Lai massacre, and his Republican opponent finds out about it and publishes it in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Wade had been far ahead in the polls, but the bottom dropped out after the smear job.
It’s important for Wade to be liked. He thought his father never really liked him, making fun of his weight, even though he wasn’t that heavy. He even scorned Wade’s obsession with magic. Then he went and committed suicide.
Wade’s nickname in Vietnam was The Sorcerer. He did tricks for his fellow soldiers. It was beyond just tricks however. They actually thought he had special powers, and he showed it when he took out a sniper who had shot and killed one of his peers.
Lt. Calley gave the order to kill those civilians. There’s a quote from him where he insists they’re all Viet Cong. Calley was the only one charged and convicted of the murders, although most of the men obeyed orders. Wade and a native American soldier were the only two who were reluctant.
The Conflict isn’t just the election loss. Suddenly Wade’s wife Kathy, who says she loves her husband, even after she had an affair, suddenly takes a boat and heads out into the Lake of the Woods. Take a look at a map of Minnesota. The Lake of the Woods is huuuge! The sheriff sends out dozens of people looking for her. Even the Canadians help. No luck.
Sometimes the book is confusing because of the narrator’s speculation about what happened or is happening. We see Kathy get lost; we see her turn around and try to go back where she came from. She knows the sun rises in the East and she forms a line in her head she will follow until she runs into Minnesota mainland. But we don’t know if that’s what really happened. We also see John Wade boil a pot of tea and poor it on the plants in the living room, then go into the bedroom to watch his beautiful wife sleep. He’s thinking how much he loves her. Later we see the same scene, only this time he dumps the tea all over her face. So. . .which is it?
This is a very good book, almost as good as THE THINGS THEY CARRIED. I’m the type of reader who hates an ending where there’s no resolution. I majored in English in college, and that happened a lot with modern short stories. It was almost always up to the reader. In this case no resolution is the best resolution. Towards the end everybody gives up the search, and Wade goes out on his own looking for her or contemplating suicide because he knows she’s dead. For all we know they’re both still out there trying to find each other again.
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Popular Highlights in this book
They wanted happiness without knowing what it was, or where to look, which made them want it all the more.Highlighted by 354 Kindle readers- Sometimes he did bad things just to be loved, and sometimes he hated himself for needing love so badly.Highlighted by 299 Kindle readers
- What John felt that night, and for many nights afterward, was the desire to kill.Highlighted by 278 Kindle readers
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| America Fantastica | The Things They Carried | July, July | Going After Cacciato | If I Die in a Combat Zone Box Me Up And Send Me Home | Northern Lights | |
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Best book I've read in a while. Tim Obrien :my newest favorite author. Looking forward to reading more of his work.
Top reviews from other countries
Robert Alan Davidson
it is the quintessential American novel featuring a love story, deceit
Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2017
Lady Fancifull
Darkness unfathomable, Darkness inherent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2014