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drbex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Sexual violence, and Sexism
abbie_tratch's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
The comics had such a lighthearted quirky style to it at the start but as things shift her story telling and artwork hold so many emotions and had me crying at two separate times (TW: sexual assault). Going into the book I thought it was actually more about the “ducks” and the environmental side which it turned out to be primarily camp life and the interactions she had with her colleagues and how that shaped her. Despite it not being what I expected it was very well done and relatable even having not been in the exact same situations as Kate, she manages to illustrate the struggles of being a young woman in a male world in a very definite light.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
melbotics's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual harassment
jana_ro's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexism
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.
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.
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
eventual_ghost's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Addiction
jbosio's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
elliya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
5.0
I thought I had already read this, but I had only read the shorter PDF version.
Wow. Beaton is a gifted storyteller and her precise way of dipping in and out of narrative moments gives just enough insight into poignant and unsettling moments at the oil camps. She is somehow able to build complex characters through only a handful of frames, and to navigate incredibly heavy topics (environmental destruction! Generational unemployment! The destitution of poverty in rural Canada!) in a way that does not overwhelm the narrative. I am in awe of this powerful memoir.
Wow. Beaton is a gifted storyteller and her precise way of dipping in and out of narrative moments gives just enough insight into poignant and unsettling moments at the oil camps. She is somehow able to build complex characters through only a handful of frames, and to navigate incredibly heavy topics (environmental destruction! Generational unemployment! The destitution of poverty in rural Canada!) in a way that does not overwhelm the narrative. I am in awe of this powerful memoir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Colonisation, and Addiction
Minor: Car accident
deanlockiradall's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Wow. I will admit, I wasn't sure what to make of this book when I first picked it up, but I'm truly glad I did. This standalone graphic memoir recounts the two years Kate "Katie" Beaton spent working in the Alberta oil sands in Canada as a recent college graduate entering a jobless market. Her perspective is colored by a nexus of layers: she is a young white woman from Cape Breton in Eastern Canada; like many in her home community, she migrates across the country from Francophone Canada to the British-influenced West Coast, and works in a very isolated, hypermasculine environment that wreaks havoc not only on the natural environment and First Nations communities there but also the employees themselves, who risk their health and their lives to support families back home. In her memoir, Katie, who faces her own obstacles, trauma, and--most of all--looming student loans, often wonders, If these men--who could be her brothers, father, uncles--were at home, would they be "normal"? At the same time, the oil sands are such a specific environment (especially in the pre-smartphone era early 2000s) that returning to "normal" society is like entering another dimension. This is a powerful memoir, and reminds readers to consider forgotten populations and the hows and whys of their struggles.
Beaton, an Eisner, Ignatz, Harvey, and Doug Wright Awards-winning cartoonist, renders this memoir in all its complex shades of gray. She doesn't shy away from tough topics, such as rape, the health and environmental impacts of the oil sands, the impact on Indigenous peoples, and the struggle and invisibility of blue collar workers, especially men. At the same time, she doesn't sensationalize either: these problems are widespread, but not graphically drawn; rather, the impact is depicted through vagueness and implication, while coarse dialogue and slang highlights the realistic truth of both flaws and camaraderie. Beaton is also upfront with her own social privilege and imperfect knowledge--she neither knew nor experienced the full tragedy of the oil sands on the lands they used and the people they stole from, but pulls no punches with the dark side of the industry she worked for out of necessity--the dark side of capitalism and the hypocrisy of the "support" and "reparations" offered by bigwigs to avoid public criticism. Text aside, the panels are organized and readable, with a comfortable balance between text and images, and a grid-like layout that flows easily for both the experienced comics reader and the newcomer just dipping a toe into the medium.
As someone who knows very little about the industry and only general brushstrokes of Canadian history and social complexities, I found this memoir to be both incredibly informative and a riveting read. The title, too, remains with me--although the actual birds only appear briefly in the book, their symbolism is clear--the toxins of the oil industry stick to everyone, are very difficult to dislodge, and may eventually prove fatal. It is also a very difficult experience to imagine unless one knows what is like to be there. Readers of this memoir may also be interested in Tar Sands by Andrew Nikiforuk, Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan, and Fire on the Water by Jill MacGregor.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexism
birdie_is_here's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexism