Border Songs

The Story

By the acclaimed author of The Highest Tide, a story of contrary destinies that are further complicated by the border that separates them.Brandon VanderkoolÆs extreme dyslexia and height give him a peculiar perspective, which proves handy once his father pushes him off their Washington dairy farm into the Border Patrol. Though he used to just jump over the ditch into British Columbia, heÆs uncomfortable in this uniformed role and instead indulges his obsession with birds and art while incidentally spotting smugglers and illegal immigrants who are provoking an already paranoid society. Drug mansions in the Canadian highlands peer down into berry farms that might offer convenient routes into the American market, where politicians clamor for increased security. Closer to home, BrandonÆs father battles disease in his herd and his mother something far worse. Madeline Rousseau, who grew up right across the ditch, has seen her gardening skills turn lucrative, while her father replicates great past inventions and rails against imperialism. And overseeing everything is a mysterious masseuse who knows everybodyÆs secrets.Rich in characters contending with a swiftly changing world and their own elusive hopes and dreams, Border Songs is at once comic, tender, and momentousùa riveting portrait of a distinctive community, an inventive love story, and fiction of the highest order.