Lynch, Jim 1961–

PERSONAL: Born 1961, in WA; married; children: one daughter.

ADDRESSES: Home—Olympia, WA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Bloomsbury USA, 175 5th Ave., Ste. 300, New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: National journalism awards.

WRITINGS:

The Highest Tide (novel), Bloomsbury (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor of short fiction to literary magazines.

SIDELIGHTS: Jim Lynch's novel The Highest Tide tells the story of a pivotal summer in a young boy's life. The boy, Miles O'Malley, finds a giant squid beached near his home. He is the first person to see the creature alive, and this event is especially significant to him because he has long been fascinated by environmental issues. Soon thereafter, Miles finds a rare fish near his home and saves a dog, two incidents that lead people to believe he is some kind of prophet. The media converges on him, even as the coastline prepares for the highest tide seen in fifty years. Through it all, Miles struggles to understand his place in the adult world. A Publishers Weekly reviewer praised Lynch for his skill in using marine life as "a subtly executed metaphor for the bewilderments of adolescence." Library Journal reviewer Lisa Rohrbaugh called Lynch's writing "eloquent," particularly when the subject was the ocean; but found that when Miles's sexual awakening becomes the focus, the story "declines into juvenile mediocrity." A writer for Kirkus Reviews also found The Highest Tide at its best when the focus is on the water; at such times it becomes "a stunning light show, both literal, during phosphorescent plankton blooms, and metaphorical, in the poetic fireworks."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2005, review of The Highest Tide, p. 658.

Library Journal, July 1, 2005, Lisa Rohrbaugh, review of The Highest Tide, p. 69.

Publishers Weekly, July 18, 2005, review of The Highest Tide, p. 183.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com, http://www.bookreporter.com/ (September 20, 2005), review of The Highest Tide.