|
NAIBA Notables
Border Songs by Jim Lynch
Border Songs
by Jim Lynch
Knopf
ISBN-10: 0-307-27117-X; ISBN-13: 978-0-307-27117-4
June 16, 2009
Description:
By the acclaimed author of The Highest Tide, a story of contrary destinies further complicated by the border that separates them.
Six foot eight and severely dyslexic, Brandon Vanderkool has always had an unusual perspective-which comes in handy once his father pushes him off their dairy farm and into the Border Patrol. He used to jump over the ditch into British Columbia but now is responsible for policing a thirty-mile stretch of this largely invisible boundary. Uncomfortable in this uniformed role, he indulges his passion for bird-watching and often finds not only an astonishing variety of species but also a great many smugglers hauling pot into Washington State, as well as potentially more dangerous illegals. What a decade before was a sleepy rural hinterland is now the front line of an escalating war on both drugs and terrorism.
Bookseller review:
Around 6 o'clock, home from work and nestled in my battered barcalounger, I opened Jim Lynch's new novel Border Songs. At two in the morning, I read the last page, exhaled, and already began missing the motley gang of characters I had spent the evening and wee hours with.
Border Songs is an engaging, satisfying, and immensely entertaining story. The appeal stems largely from the novel's main character Brandon Vanderkool. As unique and memorable as anyone I have encountered in recent fiction, Brandon is six foot eight, severely dyslexic, and has an uncanny affinity for the natural world. Working as a border patrol agent along the U.S. Canada border in Washington state, he indulges his passion for bird-watching while keeping an alert eye to potential terrorists and pot smugglers.
The forests and farms of northern Washington are beautifully described and play a key role in the story, informing both character and plot. It is the beauty that has so taken hold of Brandon's imagination, but it is also rich cover for illegal crossings. Before 9/11 the border between the two countries was largely non- existent, but since then a culture of hyper security with fences and cameras has arisen, and suspicion has replaced all feelings of community. It's in this landscape that Brandon's father Norm operates a dairy farm. His struggle to maintain his business and look after his animals is described with unerring detail and provide a weighty counterpoint to Brandon's peculiar brand of law enforcement.
The plot has satisfying twists and turns, largely focusing on industrial marijuana production in British Columbia and its importation into the lower 48, but the most lasting and compelling aspect of Border Songs is the characters. Brandon is bumbling, heroic, hilarious, and amazing in his power of observation and intuition. Norm is strong, wise, hard-working, and compassionate. It's the characters, their originality, vitality, and freshness, that make Border Songs a truly stand-out novel.
Mark LaFramboise, Politics & Prose, Washington, DC
More resources:
Jim Lynch photo
Jim Lynch website
Jim Lynch author tour dates
Jim Lynch Q & A
Shelf Talker
High-resolution book jacket
Reading Group Guide
Watch the book trailer for the book:
To embed this book trailer on your own site, visit the trailer on YouTube and copy the "Embed" code in the gray box at the top right; then paste the code into your site.
If you would like to suggest a book as a NAIBA Notable, email your suggestion to us - include your review of the book. To make an impact, be sure to nominate our Notables to the Indie Next list.
|
