Ducks : : two Years in the oil Sands

Locations
Call Number: Adult Graphic Novel / Beaton, Kate, Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Adult Graphic Novel / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Adult Graphic Novel / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	Due 01-05-2025
Downtown 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Adult Graphic Novel / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	Due 12-14-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	Due 01-05-2025
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Beaton, Kate	4-week checkout	Due 01-07-2025

Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta's oil rush-part of the long tradition of East Coasters who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they can't find it in the homeland they love so much. Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands, where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet is never discussed. Beaton's natural cartooning prowess is on full display as she draws colossal machinery and mammoth vehicles set against a sublime Albertan backdrop of wildlife, northern lights, and boreal forest. Her first full length graphic narrative, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is an untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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Summary / Annotation
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Interesting submitted by karenkay on July 19, 2023, 5:26pm Interesting story of a young woman who goes to work in the Oil Sands and finds herself the victim of sexism and sexual assault.

Read this! submitted by cmegan on June 20, 2024, 11:42am In 2005, Kate was a recent college graduate with a double degree in History and Anthropology, and a mountain of student debt. She came home to Cape Breton, in Eastern Canada, to a very bleak jobless landscape. So, she did what everyone was doing at the time: went to work in the oil sands in Alberta until she could pay her loans off. At twenty-two she had no idea what to expect or what she would find there; what the isolation, physically challenging work environment, and massive gender-imbalance of the employee population would lead to. Men outnumbered women sometimes fifty to one; sexual harassment during work hours and assault after hours in the camp dorms was rampant, as was depression and drug use. Slowly, over the course of three years, Kate became aware of the conversations around environmental impact and misuse of stolen Indigenous lands. This book, nearly 500 pages, does not tell; it shows, in excruciating detail, the human cost of this harsh, damaging industry. But while the money remains, people who feel they have no other choice will keep working the oil sands. No one who works there wants to be there, but the other industries they worked in before are gone

Like many others, I have been reading Kate Beaton's work since the 2008 when "Hark! A Vagrant" was still a webcomic. Realizing that the events of this autobiographical work occured so closely to when I first "met" this author's work has been incredibly humbling experience.

About bigger issues submitted by emlunning on July 11, 2024, 11:51am Kate Beaton tells the story of her time working in Alberta's oil sands. She shares her experiences as a surveyor, showing what life is like in a place where oil is extracted from the ground. Through simple and clear drawings, she describes the landscapes and challenges she faced while working in this remote area. The book isn't just about her job. It's also about bigger issues like how industries impact nature and communities. It made me think about how natural resources are used and what it means for our environment. Overall, this book helped me understand the personal and larger impacts of working in the oil industry. It's a good read for anyone curious about these topics and wants to learn more through storytelling and pictures. Trigger warning for sexual assault and harassment.

Fantastic submitted by EJZ on July 21, 2024, 11:39am This book has stayed with me since reading. It deals with sexual assault and sexism, and it does so in a complex way that really brings the reader in to consider the gravity and difficulty of the author's situation. The characters are complex and the narrative draws you in. It's a very memorable graphic novel, one of the best.