One moonlit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O'Malley, a speed-reading, Rachel Carson-obsessed insomniac out looking for tidal specimens in Puget Sound, discovers a giant squid stranded on the beach. As the first person to see a giant squid alive, he finds himself hailed as a prophet. But Miles is really just a kid on the verge of growing up, infatuated with the girl next door, worried that his bickering parents will divorce, and fearful that everything, even the bay he loves, is shifting away from him. As the sea continues to offer up discoveries from its mysterious depths, Miles struggles to deal with the difficulties that attend the equally mysterious process of growing up.
"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
"An irresistible coming-of-age fable, dappled with lyricism, briny honesty and good humor. It's as if Carson herself (or, say, John McPhee) had turned to fiction, bringing an exacting sense of the ebb and flow of nature to the story of one largely unsupervised boy and the exploration of his surroundings."-Los Angeles Times
"Unforgettable...[A] classic coming-of-age story, told with wry wit and quirky mating-marine-life facts."-Seattle Times
"In his superb first novel, Olympia's Jim Lynch has achieved a unique literary Triple Crown: 1) best coming-of-age novel set in the Pacific Northwest in recent memory; 2) best novel to resurrect the writing of the visionary Rachel Carson; 3) best novel to educate people about that mysteriously awesome place where freshwater meets the sea."-Oregonian
"The fertile strangeness of marine tidal life becomes a subtly executed metaphor for the bewilderments of adolescence in this tender and authentic coming-of-age novel."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Nerdy, vulnerable,
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
And what a summer he has! Miles, who is licensed to collect marine specimens for money, slips into his kayak late one night when he can't sleep and begins his exploratory rounds. What he sees is not the usual collectibles. He hears a deep exhale, a sound of release, and comes eye to eye with a giant squid. But, there are no giant squid in Puget Sound or anywhere around it--and when they are seen by humans, they are always dead. His discovery is confirmed by Professor Kramer, a local biologist and Miles's friend. Television cameras arrive, everyone wants to interview this small-for-his-age but very smart boy and the events of the summer begin to unfold.
Jim Lynch has an ability to tell a tale that glows on every page. He knows everything that lives in or near the water by name and habit. This knowledge and his sense of wonder at the natural world brings the reader very close to his story, both in its setting and its characters. One early morning Miles says, "...the water was so clear I could see coon-stripe shrimp ... and the bottomless bed of white clam shells ... Those shells, as unique and timeless as bones, helped me realize that we all die young, that in the life of the earth, we are houseflies, here for one flash of light." Such insights are perfectly natural coming from Miles, whose interests are not garden-variety. He has a mad crush on the mixed-up 18-year-old girl next door, a randy age-mate named Phelps, and a deep friendship with Florence, the elderly woman his mother refers to as "a crazy witch." Florence is a psychic of sorts and her powers come into play when she predicts an extremely high tide on a certain day.
All of these relationships and what is happening between Miles's parents are part of this event-filled, life-changing summer. Early on, Miles says off the top of his head, when asked by a TV reporter why a deep-sea creature has found its way to his front yard, "Maybe the earth is trying to tell us something." What the earth and the sea and the people in Miles's life are all trying to tell him is what he susses out in the days that follow--before that high tide.
This absolutely luminous first novel has all the earmarks of a classic. The Highest Tide is destined to be read, re-read, and to remain on bookshelves for the enjoyment of generations to come. --Valerie Ryan
Jim Lynch spent four years as the Puget Sound reporter for the Oregonian, and has won national journalism awards and published short fiction in literary magazines. A Washington state native, Lynch currently writes and sails from his home in Olympia, where he lives with his wife and daughter. The Highest Tide is his first novel.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Book is in NEW condition. Seller Inventory # 1582346291-2-1
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # DADAX1582346291
Book Description Seller Inventory # sc4-36
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9781582346298
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New. Seller Inventory # 1582346291
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Mar2811580071104
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # I-9781582346298
Book Description Trade Paperback. Condition: New. New!. Seller Inventory # 0386978
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_1582346291
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Reprint. Special order direct from the distributor. Seller Inventory # ING9781582346298