He has dark secrets and regrets. The mystery to be solved is not only that of John Wade, but that of the narrator of the story himself. Throughout the novel In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien, the narrator uses the case of John and Kathy as a way to justify his past. The narrator describes John Wade and Kathy's situation from a unique point of view, ignoring the truth of what happened to Kathy. However, the footnotes reveal that there is much more to the story than just what happened to Kathy. The narrator has his own mystery that he is trying to solve; the inner complexities of John as a person. It appears that the narrator is an unreliable narrator, as he "distorts the story [he is] telling" (Kelly xiii). Kelly's introduction explains, "When reading a story written by a narrator of this type, part of the reader's pleasure comes from piecing together a more reliable account of events" (xiii). The note at the end of chapter 30 reveals a deeper truth about the narrator and the novel itself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In trying to put the pieces of the mystery together, the narrator is trying to put the pieces of himself together. The narrator says, “Maybe that's what this book is for. To remind me. To give me back my lost life” (298n10). When the narrator says “remind me” he is referring to being reminded that deep down he is not a bad person. In this note the narrator reveals that he too had a similar experience to Thuan Yen. He admits, “I have my Private Wetherby, my old man with the hoe” (298n10). These atrocities that the narrator refers to are John's most tormenting and painful memories. The murder of Wetherby and the old man make John look like a monster. The narrator reveals that he carries the same weight of regrets with him. It is because of this predisposition that the narrator turns out to be unreliable. If the narrator can persuade readers to understand John as a complex individual, who is ultimately a good person, then he can convince himself that he too is the same. The novel boils down to these final questions: “Can we believe that he was not a monster but a man? That he was innocent of everything except his life” (303)? Contrary to the plot of the story, the novel does not end with the resolution of the mystery, but rather reveals the narrator's final request to understand John as a good soul despite all the monstrosity of his life. As the footnotes reveal the relationship between the narrator and John, it becomes clear that the verdict on John's character also parallels the determination of the narrator's character. As it becomes clear that the story is not about finding out what happened to Kathy, it also becomes clear that it is more about a collection of “evidence” that defends the narrator's past. He admits, "I find myself wondering if these old, worn-out memories were plucked from someone else's life, or from a piece of fiction I once read or heard about." (298n10) After learning about this relationship between the narrator and the main character, it becomes apparent that the narrator has taken the mystery of John and Kathy and used it as a template to place his own torn memories. This reflects the evidence gathered by the narrator. Since the story is told by an unreliable narrator, the evidence gathered does not actually contribute to the mystery of Kathy, but rather to the mystery of the narrator himself. The narrator even states in the first footnote: “I have tried, of course, to be faithful to the evidence. Yet the evidence is not the truth” (30n10). Next, the narrator ironically uses the.