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Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
I remember long ago when Kate Beaton posted a few panels of her story that became the basis for this memoir - it too was called Ducks. I've been keen to read Ducks ever since, and it's been worth the wait. Beaton's voice and art was always growing and developing with every strip of Hark a Vagrant, and underneath the silly wit there was always an undercurrent of insightful observations and spot on critiques. Ducks feels like a culmination of sorts, a nod to that era of her life while giving us a full picture of her talent and insight both now and then. Another reviewer here wrote "The resulting product is poignant and uncertain. There are no great realizations or revelations to be had about Beaton's time in the oil sands. Like most things in our lives, there is both good and bad to be found in the retelling, and it is Beaton's understanding of this that really sells this book." It's an excellent example of how to do a memoir, by letting us sit in the complexity of her memories.
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