Day 2,047, Quasi-Qaurantine: "Place Of Tides" Depicts A Dying Tradition Upheld By A Force Of Nature In Stunning Norway

“Ours is a dark and chaotic world. We are all in need of lights to follow.”

Rarely will you find a nonfiction book that touches you so deeply and achieves a sort of unexpected tenderness. "The Place of Tides" is that book.

“The island and the wild things are never fully known. There is no end to learning. Anna knows that, and, now, so do I. When we were young, the old folk seemed to know everything. I had imagined that there was a moment when you felt wise, that you had learnt it all. She looks over at me, smiling, as though she can hear the thought. We are all just children. We never know enough, not even the half of it.”

James Rebanks visits a harsh Norwegian archipelago to learn the ways of the "duck woman," but the author undergoes something of a spiritual transformation along the way. Living with Anna -- the duck woman -- and her friend Ingrid, Rebanks learns the ancient craft of tending to ducks and harvesting eider down in the midst of a beautiful, wild, and unforgiving landscape.

“And in this radically pared-back life, she had found peace and meaning. She was the waves, the light, and the terns rising and falling on the bay. She was them, and they were her.”

The work suffers a little bit in the lack of clarity surrounding the author's breakdown or midlife crisis, as well as the overall chronology of the story. It's also unclear whether Anna knew what Rebanks was after or why he was there -- a significant miss since it's kind of the foundation of the book.

“We cannot be what we are and what we aspire to be at the same time, something in us has to die for something else to be born.”

"The Place of Tides" sneaks up on you, contrasting the relentless nature of the modern world with a disappearing tradition in an environment under siege from man's thoughtlessness. Rebanks's adventure is a compelling story, his personal journey is a cautionary tale, and his portrait of Anna is enchanting and revealing.

“I had been searching for a hero, and I found what I’d thought was the most defiant person alive. But, instead of a superhero, I had become friends with an ordinary woman who had lived an extraordinary life.”