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Title details for Border Songs by Jim Lynch - Available

Border Songs

by Jim Lynch
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
'A gifted and original novelist' New York Times
'A beautifully written novel, hilarious and tender' The Washington Times
Six-foot-eight and severely dyslexic, Brandon Vanderkool has always had an unusual perspective. He knows the mating calls of all the local owls, and can feel a flock of swans taking off before the sound reaches him. But he finds human feelings harder to read - especially lately.
His father has got him a job with the Border Patrol, a reluctant and miscellaneous outfit that polices the often invisible frontier between the United States and Canada. What used to be a sleepy hinterland of farms, with foreign neighbours saluting each other ironically over a shallow ditch, suddenly appears to have become the frontline of an escalating war on drugs and terror. As CCTV cameras sprout up all over the forest, previously law-abiding farmers find themselves increasingly tempted to turn a blind eye. And Brandon, on his excursions to spot red-tailed hawks and solo tree swallows, seems to be accidentally stumbling upon every illegal immigrant and bud trafficker in the area.
Closer to home, Brandon's father is dealing with diseased dairy cows, his mother battles encroaching dementia, and their Canadian neighbour's daughter Madeline turns her gardening skills toward the cannabis underworld. And overseeing everything is a mysterious masseuse who seems to know everybody's secrets...
Filled with eccentric characters and unique histories, Border Songs is that rare delight: a gently satirical portrait, an extraordinary love story and a celebration of the coincidental and the miraculous.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 3, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781408803196

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781408803196
      • File size: 502 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 30, 2009
      Lynch digs into the strange culture of a U.S.-Canada border town in his lush second novel (after The Highest Tide
      ). Brandon Vanderkool, the town freak people talk about “the way they discuss earthquakes, eclipses and other phenomena,†is pushed into joining the Border Patrol by his dairy-farmer father. Though the dyslexic, six-foot-eight Brandon prefers to bird-watch and tend to the cows on his father's farm, he proves to be surprisingly adept at spotting drug smugglers and illegal immigrants, which brings a wave of attention to both him and the town. The illegal goings-on provide excellent plot fodder, though the novel is equally concerned with smalltown life: Brandon's mother is noticing the first sign of Alzheimer's; his father's struggling dairy farm hits a low point when his herd becomes diseased; a local masseuse records the town's activities with her camera; and the beautiful, enigmatic Madeline provides an object of affection for Brandon. Lynch's depiction of the natural world and his deep sympathy for his characters carry the book, and while it's a bit quiet, there are majestic moments.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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