Place of Tides by James Rebanks
This book pulls you deep into the lives of frail, elderly Anna, a Norwegian duck, woman. She is one of the stitches that hold a way of life that goes back aeons delicately in the 21st Century.
James weaves the story gently, respecting Anna and her friend Ingrid’s approach to their summer on the island, preparing for the Eider's arrival, protecting the nest and then stepping away from the Landscape and returning to their other lives.
Do not expect high-speed drama, there is plenty of drama, but it unfolds. Whether memories of the past or threats to the ducks in the here and now. Do expect a book that delivers with a lightness of touch and you will want to read on and on. It will leave you moved and changed.
Anna gains strength from the island and is determined to be part of a successful duck season. The ducks she understands are part of her emotional DNA.
James Rebanks steps into the aging Anna’s realm. No longer her solitary place, with assistant Ingrid who is learning the necessary nature lore of being a duck woman. Rebanks writes in a distinctive style that pulls the reader close as he unreels the narrative of life before, during and after the eiders. He is the interloper but not a passive observer he is drawn into the work assisting Ingrid, he is the student she is now the teacher. The writing style is immersive, the narrative cloaks you in an eiderdown of carefully crafted words. The story is more than the down left to be collected and cleaned at the end of the season. It is about regaining what is important and what we have lost as we speed through life governed by material possessions.
This a story that captures nature not through rose-tinted glasses, of a plucky heroic woman. It is a testament to Anna’s stubbornness, hard work and understanding of how traditions are at the heart of society. This is nature red in tooth and claw and toxic human relationships. The cement throughout the book is the story of the family, the Eiders and Anna.
A beautifully observed memoir of a way of life, hanging on despite so many obstacles for the Eider duck. The ducks have many predators, the natural animals and mink. Mink, we took to the islands to profit from their fur. The narrative ebbs and flows with Anna's memories and through her words and generosity of spirit, we step into her thoughts and understand, the pull of nurturing a haven for the Eiders to flourish. This is achieved by the skilful narration by James Rebanks. Place of Tides never preaches it is the unveiling of a landscape which without his words would remain an unknown way of life.
The Eider ducks need more Annas. Nature needs more Annas, individuals who give their time and effort to understand and be guardians of this precious and vulnerable world.
The Ducks from the sea need our help; sand eel stocks are being depleted, resulting in mother ducks arriving underweight. Hunger is driving the Eider back to the sea, their eggs remain unhatched.
Nature is a delicate balancing act. This book reminds us of our role in upsetting the equilibrium of climate and habitats. Somehow, we must quickly learn to live in partnership with nature. To cease extracting everything that can be bought and sold. This is our world and theirs.
Place of Tides evokes a landscape managed, controlled, and destroyed by the ebb and flow of salt water. A landscape of islands where weather is the sixth sense shaping a person’s experience day and night.
The Place of Tides reminds the reader of what we should value and what is important in life.
‘She looked like a Queen – not in her clothes or possessions but in her defiant eyes. Anna lived a rebellion against modernity.’
Be more Anna is my clarion call. Observe and act and understand the importance of nature’s ebb and flow.
Place of Tides by James Rebanks, published by Allen Lane, Penguin Books on 27th October 2024.
Pre-order - Bookshop.org - Waterstones