Jim Lynch's "Border Songs"

Tides vs. Borders
Jim Lynch’s novels explore back corners of Washington State

by Christian Martin

Jim Lynch hit on something sweet and surprising with his 2005 debut novel The Highest Tide. Readers fell in love with it in a big way, first here in the Pacific Northwest, then across the country and eventually around the world. Awarded the Pacific Northwest Booksellers', translated in to eight different languages in 20 different countries and adapted for the stage in a successful run at Seattle's Book-It theater, The Highest Tide proved to be quirky and smart. Lynch's prose is rich with natural detail that brings the ecology of southern Puget Sound to vivid, squirming life and his plot peopled with believable characters and interactions.

Not since David Guterson and the Snow Falling on Cedars phenomenon have Pacific Northwest readers' hopes been so high for a local author's sophomore follow-up. With the release of *Border Songs*, Lynch's literary strategy seems to be based on the mantra, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." His new novel is built on the familiar foundation of his first, employing a very similar storyline, pace, tone and intention.

In The Highest Tide, the protagonist Miles O’Malley is a shy, sensitive 13-year old boy, a good-natured innocent that doesn't fit in with others around him but finds solace (and highly unusual discoveries) in wild places.

In Border Songs, the protagonist Brandon is a shy, sensitive 23-year old young man, a good-natured innocent that doesn’t fit in with others around him but finds solace (and highly unusual discoveries) in wild places.

Differences exist, to be sure: Miles has a unique bond with the sea life found on the beaches of his home near Olympia; Brandon finds connection with the bird life in his home in northern Whatcom County. Much of Miles’ introspective withdrawal comes from escaping his parent’s bitter marriage, while Brandon’s awkwardness arises from a condition that resembles Asperger Syndrome. Miles becomes a sensation in the media and with a religious cult; Brandon becomes an unlikely hero for the Border Patrol.

There are many pleasures to be had in reading Border Songs, and I expect that our corner of the country will be especially receptive owing to the novel's aforementioned setting. The story takes place on and around the US-Canadian border, and pivotal scenes take place in the unlikely settings of Blaine, Ferndale, White Rock and Semiahmoo. The story examines the overlapping tropes of homeland security, marijuana smuggling, terrorism and political posturing, surveying these contemporary border issues through the eyes of a wide cast of eccentric characters. From dope growers to federal officers, illegal immigrants to dairy farmers, truck drivers to casino boosters, these pages are full of true-to-life northern Whatcomites living along the 49th parallel.

Many of the local details are spot-on too -- the character of the Nooksack River, the smell of manure on the wind, the high demand for BC bud, even the seasonal bird life -- all demonstrating Lynch’s affinity for northwestern Washington State. The sense of place that the author creates is only possible through humility, a slowed-down attentiveness and sensitivity to nature.

Is the new novel too much like the earlier one, too predictable, to be enjoyable? Or did The Highest Tide hit upon such a winning formula with enough rich possibility that it begs to be explored in shifting scenarios? Readers will decide for themselves.

All in all, Lynch has delivered the finest literary treatment of our region since Annie Dillard's The Living. But whereas The Living is often seen as stern, morbid and uncompromising, Border Songs is whimsical, sensitive and full of heart.