1. “Everyone remembered the night Brandon Vanderkool flew across the Crawfords’ snowfield and tackled the Prince and Princess of Nowhere.” What does the first sentence of the novel tell us about what’s to come?

2. Have you read Jim Lynch’s first novel, The Highest Tide? If so, what similarities do you find in Border Songs? Differences?

3. What are the major themes of Border Songs? What point is Lynch trying to make? Is he successful?

4. On page 13, Brandon says, “I think the most interesting people I’ll meet these days will be criminals --- or people about to become criminals.” Is he right?

5. Discuss Wayne Rousseau: Why does he try to replicate already-existing inventions? What is the significance of his choices --- the lightbulb, The Great Gatsby? How does this intersect with his politics?

6. Compare Wayne and Norm. Why are they so antagonistic toward each other?

7. At several points in the novel, characters describe Brandon as seeing things differently, or seeing things that others don’t see. Why do you think that is? How does it help him and hurt him?

8. Why does Madeline fall in with Toby? Why does she do what he asks? Why does she suddenly decide to stop?

9. On page 79, Lynch writes, “Now [Norm] felt as if he’d sent his son to the front lines of a war he hadn’t realized was going on in his own neighborhood.” How does Norm deal with this guilt? How does the notion of a war affect the way the novel’s characters behave?

10. All around him, Norm’s life is in upheaval: His cattle are sick, his wife is sick, his son is attracting attention that Norm finds embarrassing. How does he respond?

11. How does Brandon’s relationship with the natural world --- birds, cows, foliage, and so on --- affect his abilities as a Border Patrol officer?

12. Discuss the area’s reaction to Brandon’s arrest of the bomber/smuggler, on pages 89–93. What is happening here?

13. Several Canadian characters compare the United States’ policy on marijuana to Prohibition. Are they right? How does this relate to the vast number of previously law-abiding Americans who are willing to work with smugglers?

14. Why does Brandon stop counting birds (page 103)?

15. On page 156, McAfferty says, “Bad shit has always passed through here, but now we’re watching so closely that we see way more of it.” Is this an accurate assessment?

16. Why is Norm building a boat, of all things?

17. What does Pearl’s death signify? Is it a turning point for Norm?

18. “Astronauts’ footprints stay on the moon forever,” Brandon whispers to Madeline on page 250, “because there’s no wind to blow them away.” What is he trying to say? How do you imagine Madeline reacts?

19. What purpose does the character of Sophie serve in the novel? What did you think she was up to? Did the reality surprise you?

20. On page 290, the art expert says of Brandon’s work, “His focus appears to be the instant before collapse --- or surrender.” What does this mean, in terms of Brandon’s art and his life?

21. Discuss the final scene, and Brandon’s interaction with the swallows.