Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

29 reviews

thewordsdevourer's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

3.25

ducks was a darker-than-expected read, w/ beaton's graphic memoir focusing on her 2 yrs working in canada's oil sands, which proved to be a complex, nuanced experience w/ negative repercussions nevertheless.

the book dealt w/ human behavior when situated in an unusual microcosm thats focused on the wrong things, demonstrating the oil companies' flaws and policies that enabled a culture of silence and harassment. im disturbed to learn that beaton's experience was a daily struggle of living in a man's world, encountering sexist and misogynistic behavior both glaringly alarming and casually subtle.

tho i cant fully say the reading experience as a whole was enjoyable due to my detached distance from the stable, wearying tone of the story, the art was great - never an awkward panel to be found - w/ both fluid characters and more realistic illustrations of the setting, many of which were notable. i also appreciated beaton touching on the oil industry's culpability in wreaking destruction to the local communities, and the awareness of her own positionality.

id recommend this book to ppl who wouldnt be disturbed by the book's triggering content, and those interested in learning abt sth rarely explored esp in visual form.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Infidelity, Drug use, Mental illness, and Stalking

Minor: Racism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

te_ss_i's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Drug abuse, Racism, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Classism, Misogyny, Sexism, Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Racial slurs

clarabooksit's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexism, Rape, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Stalking, and Suicide

sonjaharrison's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Addiction, and Rape

itsmebee's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Racism

displacedcactus's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

I feel like most people already realize this, but just in case, I want to make something clear: Do NOT pick up Ducks expecting something as silly and witty as Hark! A Vagrant or Beaton's picture books. This is a very serious memoir about the author's time working in Alberta's oil sands, at job sites where the men sometimes outnumbered the women 50 to 1, people worked long hours, and were cut off from family and friends back home.

This is both a personal memoir, and a statement about the overall human toll of the oil sands -- not just the harassment that Beaton experienced, but what the other women on site experienced, the addiction and mental illness among the crews, the priority of profits over true safety, and of course, the environmental impact. The titular "ducks" are hundreds of birds who died in a tailing pond. The Indigenous population of the area has to contend with polluted water and air, among other issues.

Beaton approaches the subject with a certain amount of nuance, but this is still a difficult read. Make sure to check out the CWs before you read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Minor: Racism and Suicidal thoughts

The SA/rape are not depicted on page, but the lead up to them is, and they are discussed often (not in detail of what happened, but the emotional impact).

raybudbury's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racism, and Racial slurs

maehwa's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Racism

transkidjulian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Addiction

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

The great Canadian graphic novel, it is an exploration of what people will put up with when they need to take care of themselves, and how others will take advantage of those because of their lack of resources. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia

Minor: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Ableism

Be aware that the novel does explore workplace abuse, hardship, and harassment. If you got out of a bad job, please read with care.