THE HIGHEST TIDE, released in 2005, has been a bestseller in the United States and the United Kingdom. The novel won the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award and has been translated into ten languages and adapted to the stage where it was performed by Book-it Theater in spring 2008.Critical praise for The Highest Tide
"In stunning prose, author Jim Lynch puts sea life into a kaleidoscope where swirling shapes burst and reconfigure in continuous life-affirming wonder. ... The balance of elegance, groundedness and style is remarkable." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Poetic, yet lean, restrained, lucid and radiant." -- London Times "A poignant coming-of-age story and an enchanting primer on the life aquatic. The Highest Tide is as crisp and clean as a cool dip into the water, and just about as refreshing." -- Entertainment Weekly "A radiant first novel." -- O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine "Jim Lynch combines the spirits of two 1960s classics, `To Kill a Mockingbird' and `Silent Spring' in this knock-out debut novel. ... If novels were bioluminescent, the glow from this one would dominate bookstore shelves." -- Eugene Register Guard 
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MORE PRAISE FOR BORDER SONGSFrom Critics "Jim Lynch masterfully tiptoes the line between delicate observiation and satire with unexpected humor, all the while following the coming of age story of an unlikely hero." -The National Post (Canada) "Lynch's enthralling new novel, Border Songs, (is) a startling look at this country's far Northwest corner with a compelling cast of oddballs." -John Marshall, The Daily Beast “Lynch writes with enviable restraint, and he sees in a most unexpected way how a person’s life clicks and tumbles into (or out of) place. His turns of phrase are as light as a feather, but so precise and purposeful that you’ll quickly find yourself buoyed by the vistas they show you.” —Anne Bartholomew, Louisville Courier-Journal “Engaging, even heartwarming… Every character is memorable, each etched with distinctive lines and endearing idiosyncrasies.” —Bill Ott, Booklist Lynch "tells his story with remarkably clear prose punctuated by a sort of well-informed wink at the ridiculous attitudes on both sides of the border." -Alden Mudge, Book Page “Lynch’s depiction of the natural world and his deep sympathy for his characters carry the book [with] majestic moments.” —Publishers Weekly “Meet Brandon Vanderkool, the most fascinating, memorable, and human character in American fiction since Ignatius J. Reilly of A Confederacy of Dunces. Birder extraordinaire, painter and sculptor, part-savant and ever the Good Samaritan, Brandon also happens to be a 6’8” Border Patrol agent with an uncanny gift for finding contraband and smugglers. Border Songs is a masterwork, and Jim Lynch, for my money, is our best new storyteller since Larry McMurtry: deeply in touch with the natural world, the absurdities of our era, and the hearts and minds of his unforgettable and endlessly surprising characters.” —Howard Frank Mosher “Jim Lynch’s new novel reads as an antitdote to the 21st century: a kind of metaphorical insistence on hope and simplicity and art in the face of a surrounding storm. Border Songs is a quietly ambitious book and it just gets better as it rises to the final satisfying image.” —Kent Haruf, author of "Plainsong." EARLY PRAISE FROM INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES “The character of Brandon in Border Songs is a marvelous example of what Jim Lynch does best. This is a character written from the soul of one who understands and can communicate the shimmering mind and heart of someone who has special perceptions. Brandon shines through the complex plot and intricate character relationships to make this a truly wonderful and thoughtful novel.”—Karen Frank, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vermont “Although I think Border Songs is in a class by itself, I'd also like to offer just a couple of comparisons that give the feel of what a great read this really is. It's The Big Chill of life on the border, and a cross between The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and T. C. Boyle’s Budding Prospects. Finding a novel that is at once pure fun but literary, and humorous with outstanding character development, can be hard to come by. But Jim Lynch has wrapped it up tightly in this incredible story of life in a border town near British Columbia. All in all, a wonderland of growers, dealers, smokers, and birders! Fantastic!” —Linda Grana, Lafayette Books, Lafayette, California “A splendid new novel set on the Northwest U.S.– Canada border, featuring a motley cast of nasty drug smugglers, competing patriots, and regular folk just trying to make an honest living while staying under the radar and out of view of camera towers. Brandon Vanderkool is a young eccentric who is closer to animals, species of birds in particular (about 200 fly through these pages), than he is to other humans, though a certain Maddie has caught his attention. His talent lies in creating primitive nature constructs and paintings, and his day job is border-patrol agent, for which his instincts make him exceptionally adept. Brandon with all his awkwardness and inhibitions, is a beloved, memorable protagonist. One could say of Jim Lynch the same that one of his minor characters says of Brandon, that his ‘art reflects perhaps as well as any art… the American psyche in the twenty-first century.’” —Richard Howorth, Square Books, Oxford, Mississippi “I cracked it open last night about six o’clock. 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. Brandon Vanderkool, I think, is utterly original. My lasting image of him is towering over a flock of girl scouts in his green BP uniform with his fly open and shirt mis-buttoned. It’s also interesting to see the town’s changing impression of him, from idiot to hero to fool and finally artist, when essentially he hasn’t changed so much. I think readers are going to fall in love with him. In many ways, though, the story really belongs to Norm. His pain and his struggle give the story weight. Lynch paints him as a morally complex man, basically good but open to temptation. The description of the dairy operation brings readers right into his world. The scene where Sophie brings him the news about the cow and calf down in the field is electric, horrifying, and revolting. It’s an amazing scene and one of several that is indelibly etched in my mind…I’m pretty sure you know you’ve got a winner here. Border Songs deserves a big fat audience.” —Mark LaFramboise, Politics & Prose, Washington, DC “After loving The Highest Tide immoderately for three years, I was struck with a version of that fear that every mother has: could I ever love a second child as much as I love this one? Happily, the answer is YES! Border Songs is another Jim Lynch signature tour de force, with a cast of characters that is a collection of one-offs, unique and irresistible—none of them more so than Brandon Vanderkool, the centerpiece of the novel, birdwatcher and quirky artist, a six-foot-eight-inch innocent, a secular St. Francis who sees everything that others miss. Hypocrisy, greed, exploitation, terrorism, drug-running and people-trafficking are all themes woven through this beautifully written story that is really about honesty, loyalty, and love.” —Valerie Ryan, Cannon Beach Book Company, Cannon Beach, Oregon “I savored every chapter, every character, every lovely sentence, every plot twist and turn. It is a superbly crafted novel--there was the necessary tension to keep the reader worried about what might happen to the big lovable Brandon whose connections with the natural world were so surprising and touching and whose relationships with humans were so unsteady and unsure. And the dialogue was pitch perfect; the characters coming to life in a few deftly written paragraphs. Reading this novel was pure pleasure and reminded me once again, that books that are well written and well edited will become the bookseller's next favorite book to recommend. This will certainly be mine.”—Gayle Shanks, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Arizona “Jim Lynch's Border Songs is keenly, captivatingly keyed to the boundaries there are and aren't between people—family members, adult children and parents, working people, entrepreneurs (of the illicit persuasion), the married, and those who might be (potentially) romantically inclined. He's out and out brilliant at depicting characters' inner states, including those whose functioning is something beyond the normal. Brandon, the bird-attuned local who finds himself a Border Patrol agent and ends up making several busts, is alone worth the price of readerly admission. All of this and the border between the U.S. and Canada, too—a ditch between farm neighbors here, a patroled, fortified entryway there. Jim Lynch writes about the landscape, weather and emotional terrain of this place and these people with tender mercy, humor, and insight. Those who enjoyed his winning debut, The Highest Tide, will enjoy this and then some. For those coming to him for the first time with Border Songs, you've got the pleasure of a great new discovery in your hand.”—Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Washington “If Carl Hiaasen set one of his novels on a residential stretch of boundary line between British Columbia and Washington, or if Richard Russo's characters had relatives in the Pacific Northwest, the result might be something like Border Songs. Northwest native Jim Lynch earned a legion of fans with his bestselling debut, The Highest Tide. Border Songs is the rare sophomore effort that lives up to—arguably even exceeds—its lofty expectations.” —Dave Weich, Powell's Books, Portland, Oregon “One of the particular pleasures of being a bookseller is that every now and then a book is so vividly constructed, its characters and story so well wrought, and the author’s sensibility so finely honed that reading it has the effect of imbibing an alchemical elixir. Ontological shadows are brought into the light to create a penumbra of perception that allows the world around us to shimmer with greater intensity. Jim Lynch’s Border Songs is one of those rare books.” —Paul Yamazaki, City Lights Booksellers, San Francisco, California 
The U.S. hardback cover
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