Before the Wind is a beautifully rendered story of a family of competitive sailors hailing from Puget Sound in Washington State. The Johannssen family are sailing phenoms: the father is the strong-willed leader of the pack; the mother turns her astute mind to the physics of boating; granddad Grumps offers strange advice and quips of wisdom; brother Bernhard incessantly travels the globe; and sister Ruby has a near-otherworldly relationship with water, wind and boats. And then there's Joshua, the youngest son, who spends his days fixing busted yachts at the local marina. When a boating race goes unexpectedly awry, and the oddball family parts ways, Joshua is left to pick up the pieces.
Joshua came of age on the water; after all, his entire family had been sailing for as long as anyone could remember. He became adept at this obsession that is equal parts sport, craft and profession, and in the process shared the bond that held his family together. Jim Lynch looks beyond the Johannssen family's calling to pry away the layers and examine what happens when such a fragile family link suddenly shatters. Each of the Johannssens is flung in opposite directions, if not on the globe, then in their own hearts. When they come back together again for an important race, a lot more than winning is on the line.
Adding to his success with Truth Like the Sun, Border Songs and The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch delivers another excellent, enjoyable novel of the Pacific Northwest. --Jarret Middleton, author/freelance editor