In the Lake of the WoodsTim O’Brien

“seriously, gracefully written, and at the same time, as gripping as a thriller”

-Wall Street Journal

“There were many trees, mostly pine and birch, and

there was a dock and a boathouseand the narrow dirt road that came

through the forest and ended in polished gray rocks at the shore of the cottage”(1).

“All around them , the fog moved in

low and flat off the lake”(2)

“What if everythingthat had happened could

not have happenedbecause of those other

happenings?”(17)

“He had wanted to be loved. And to be loved he had practiced deception. He had hidden bad things. He had tricked up his

own life. Only for love. Only to be loved”(243).

“Q. You killed men, women, and children?

A. Yes”(259).

“Some times he did bad thingsjust to be loved, and sometimes he hated himself for needing

love so badly”(60).

“Fucking flies”(143).

“Kill Jesus”(197).

“If you want to trot outthe skeletons, let’s talkabout your dentist”(56)

“He liked watching his hands in the mirror, imagining how someday he would

perform much grander magic”(31).

“This was not true magic. It was trickery. But John Wade sometimes pretended otherwise, because he

was a kid then, and because pretending was the thrill of

magic”(31)

“He remembered the sunlight. He

remembered a long, bleached-out

emptiness”(214).

“Nothing is fixed, nothing is solved. The facts, such as they are, finally spin off into the void of things missing, the inconclusiveness of conclusion. Mystery finally claims us. Who are we? Where do we go?”(301).

“they could start overand do things right

and make their marriage fresh and good”(116).

“It’s all hypothesis, beginning to end”(300).

Created by:mrs. Cohen’s Per. 8

In the lake of the woodslit circle group