In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien is a novel that shows the way
             the Vietnam War still holds a grip on the American psyche and some of the
             reasons why this is so. The novel illuminates issues that ar reflected in
             other literature, both fictional and non-fictional, regarding the war and
             its effect on those who had to fight it. The My Lai massacre is not
             representative of American actions in the war, but it does hold a
             particular place in the effect that war had on those at home, a pubic that
             was horrified at some of the things being done in its name. This
             contributed both to the end of the war and to the unfortunate way many
             returning veterans were treated by an unforgiving public.
             The story centers on John Wade, who has run for the U.S. Senate and
             who has lost because of the revelation that he participated in the My Lai
             massacre during the Vietnam War. This is a secret he has hidden from his
             wife--the loss of trust is a key theme in this novel. Wade himself was
             trusted with a gun and a uniform and betrayed both by his actions. His
             wife trusted him, and he betrayed that trust by not telling her of his
             past. He has betrayed himself by hiding this issue as well, for the fact
             that it has been his secret has prevented him from receiving the atonement
             he needs in order to forgive himself. Because of his inability to come to
             terms with his crime, he commits that crime once again.
             The novel is presented in an interesting way by trying to explain the
             disappearance of John Wade and his wife, Kathy. Several different
             hypotheses are offered, but the plausible one is that John killed his wife
             and then went off into the woods to look for her, perhaps not remembering
             that he has killed her, perhaps trying only to get away. When he kills
             Kathy, he is reliving the My Lai massacre that has ruined his life. He
             also hides the fact of this new crime much as he hid his involveme...