مكان المد والجذر

A national bestseller “A modern classic we need right now.” -George Saunders From the author of the acclaimed “A Shepherd’s Life,” a mesmerizing work of non-fiction in which James Rebanks reflects on a life-changing summer spent on a remote island off the coast of Norway, where his only companion was an old woman who practiced the ancient tradition of collecting eider down from the birds that nested in this magnificent landscape each year. “We all need a light to guide us.” One afternoon many years ago, he met James Rebanks follows an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a small rocky outcrop, tending to eider ducks and collecting their down. Its craft has been passed down over the centuries and has enriched men and women in the past, but it has long since declined. However, she seemed to be still standing. When he returned home, Rebanks couldn't stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was a strong, eccentric woman, and yet strangely familiar. Years have passed. Then one day, he wrote her a letter asking if he could come back. She replied: Bring work clothes and good shoes, and come quickly: her health is deteriorating. And so he traveled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her final season on the island. This is the story of that season. It is the story of a unique and ancient landscape, and the story of the woman who brought it back to life. The story traces her path from the lonely toil of harsh winter to the joy of endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down for the birds to collect, as if it were gold studded with feathers. Little by little, Rebanks begins to realize that this woman and her world are not what he previously thought. What begins as an escape turns into an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and tolerance.