Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

15 reviews

chaoticweevil's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexism, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity and Suicide

ashleykind's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

A brilliant and nuanced look at the oil sands, our identities, and what a loss of community does to and for us.  I’ll be thinking of this book for many years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide, Classism, and Suicidal thoughts

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

raykaygreen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Suicide, Drug use, and Drug abuse

hellsjerome's review against another edition

dark funny sad medium-paced

4.5

Having been familiar with Beaton’s work on Hark! before reading, I wasn’t expecting such a dark, heartbreaking read. It’s still funny in her signature way, but it’s first and foremost a sobering story on the author’s experience working in the oil sands and the oppressive, daily misogyny she faced. Very much recommended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicide

rlgreen91's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Honestly, I wasn't planning to read this in one sitting - even though it's a graphic novel, it's still pretty hefty at 400+ pages.  And yet, I found myself drawn in to this monochrome depiction of Beaton's life in the oil sands - it felt like I was in a trance, reading about the seemingly never-ending split shifts, the stares, the jokes, the comments, the imperative to lighten up and grow some thicker skin and learn to take a compliment, on and on and on and on.  I can only assume that was intentional , or at least hoped for - to have the reader mimic what likely felt like the haze Beaton lived in during those two years.

I wasn't expecting this book to be so sad, although now that I think about it I'm not quite sure what I expected.  I assumed that oil sands are a lot like refineries, and daily work in a refinery isn't terribly exciting.  The camps though - that was chilling.  History gives us plenty of examples of why company towns are bad ideas and this just illuminated that all the more.  As many of us learned during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we're not good when we limit our social interactions to the same small set of people for long stretches of time, particularly when we don't have the chance to be alone during that same period.  Even though the work camps housed thousands of people, you could still get the sense that Beaton was really limited in terms of potential social interaction and when that happens in an environment things get weird, often in a bad way.

One thing that I thought was a bit odd was Beaton's focus on paying her loans back as quickly as possible at the expense of more or less anything else.  It was too single-minded, but I guess you can chalk it up to her age at the time.  When you first graduate from college with student loan debt and little to no family wealth to fall back on it can often feel like paying that debt off and beginning your life as a "proper" adult is an insurmountable challenge and that, on top of that, you're the only one with this problem.  Of course, in today's world you're definitely not the only 22-year-old college grad running around with student loan debt, and you can find ways to try and pay it back while also finding your footing as an adult.  But it can be hard to have that perspective when you're 22 and near the end of that six-month grace period.

Overall, this was a good although not necessarily enjoyable read?  That's the best I can put it.  4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Rape, and Drug use

emireads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Suicide, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Addiction, and Sexism

ratstronomer's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Kate Beaton’s sequential storytelling is reflective and moving. I learned a lot about the Canadian oil sands and the people who work there in search of financial hope like herself. Nothing is ever black and white and I think Kate illustrates that reality beautifully. Everyone who works in the sands is changed, even Kate.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Rape, Racial slurs, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Car accident and Suicide

marisamidori's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Sexual assault