Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dontjudgeabrooke 's review for:
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
by Kate Beaton
I have a general rule of not rating memoirs, because it feels wrong to rate people on how well I perceive them to have told their own story in the way they wished to tell it.
However, let it be known that this is another example of me really enjoying a well-done graphic novel. It's also one that hit home with me in quite a few ways.
One summer between college semesters, I spent a few weeks working in a Whirlpool plant. I only lasted that long because the work was grueling and they constantly demanded overtime and lengthy weekend shifts at a moment's notice. The plant was notorious for having people simply walk off their lines, never to return. I was constantly exhausted and felt like I didn't have any time to breathe between working and crashing as soon as I got home.
I was in awe of all the older people, especially the older women, who'd worked there for years. How did they have the energy that I, a 21-year-old, didn't seem to have? Where did they find the motivation to show up every day? I once overheard two older female employees (who'd always been kind to my face) bad-mouthing me in the bathroom because I'd shown reluctance when I'd been told, yet again, that I'd be working another full shift on my day off. That was the day I decided to quit.
To me, it seemed as though those people didn't understand they were being mistreated and that they deserved better. Of course I showed reluctance to work on my day off for the third or fourth time in a row. It sucked. But I also understood that many of the people in that plant felt they'd never be able to do better than that job.
Interestingly, in another parallel to Katie's story, my female coworkers also tried to set me up with older male coworkers whom I had no interest in and felt uncomfortable around.
Another similarity I shared with her is being absolutely irate after finding out I'd been financially shortchanged during my entire time with a company (but that was at my first office job after college).
I really appreciated all the commentary on class, much of which I could relate to as well, like the inherent classism in higher education and the fact that often only people from wealthy backgrounds can afford to take unpaid internships or directly enter their chosen fields after graduating.
I cried at some of the kindness of the men around Katie, but unfortunately, I cried because it seemed so rare. At one point Katie and her sister ponder whether other men in their lives would have turned into the same sorts of sexist creeps (or even rapists) as most of the men they worked with if those men had also taken jobs in the oil sands, which I found to be an interesting thought experiment.
In addition to class and misogyny, this book also delves into capitalism, environmental crises, loneliness, isolation, and boredom in really poignant, palpable ways. I also learned more about Canada from this book alone than I think I have in the rest of my life put together, which is pretty shameful as someone who grew up just across Lake Erie in Ohio.
Quotes that spoke to me:
However, let it be known that this is another example of me really enjoying a well-done graphic novel. It's also one that hit home with me in quite a few ways.
One summer between college semesters, I spent a few weeks working in a Whirlpool plant. I only lasted that long because the work was grueling and they constantly demanded overtime and lengthy weekend shifts at a moment's notice. The plant was notorious for having people simply walk off their lines, never to return. I was constantly exhausted and felt like I didn't have any time to breathe between working and crashing as soon as I got home.
I was in awe of all the older people, especially the older women, who'd worked there for years. How did they have the energy that I, a 21-year-old, didn't seem to have? Where did they find the motivation to show up every day? I once overheard two older female employees (who'd always been kind to my face) bad-mouthing me in the bathroom because I'd shown reluctance when I'd been told, yet again, that I'd be working another full shift on my day off. That was the day I decided to quit.
To me, it seemed as though those people didn't understand they were being mistreated and that they deserved better. Of course I showed reluctance to work on my day off for the third or fourth time in a row. It sucked. But I also understood that many of the people in that plant felt they'd never be able to do better than that job.
Interestingly, in another parallel to Katie's story, my female coworkers also tried to set me up with older male coworkers whom I had no interest in and felt uncomfortable around.
Another similarity I shared with her is being absolutely irate after finding out I'd been financially shortchanged during my entire time with a company (but that was at my first office job after college).
I really appreciated all the commentary on class, much of which I could relate to as well, like the inherent classism in higher education and the fact that often only people from wealthy backgrounds can afford to take unpaid internships or directly enter their chosen fields after graduating.
I cried at some of the kindness of the men around Katie, but unfortunately, I cried because it seemed so rare. At one point Katie and her sister ponder whether other men in their lives would have turned into the same sorts of sexist creeps (or even rapists) as most of the men they worked with if those men had also taken jobs in the oil sands, which I found to be an interesting thought experiment.
In addition to class and misogyny, this book also delves into capitalism, environmental crises, loneliness, isolation, and boredom in really poignant, palpable ways. I also learned more about Canada from this book alone than I think I have in the rest of my life put together, which is pretty shameful as someone who grew up just across Lake Erie in Ohio.
Quotes that spoke to me:
- People do things here they wouldn’t do at home. But is that who they really are? Or are they who they are at home?
- To have enough to be generous, that's something. It really is. I never had the money to be generous before.
- I could explode with the dignity I've pushed down for this company that's bursting out now, because I'm leaving and I don't have to push it down anymore.