Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
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- Create Date：2022-08-25 09:51:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Kate Beaton
- ISBN：1787330133
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Summary
Before there was Kate Beaton， New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark A Vagrant， there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beatons， a tight-knit seaside community。 After university， Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta's oil rush， part of the long tradition of East Coast Canadians who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they can't find it in the homeland they love so much。 With the singular goal of paying off her student loans， what the journey will actually cost Katie will be far more than she anticipates。
Arriving in Fort McMurray， Katie finds work in the lucrative camps owned and operated by the world's largest oil companies。 As one of the few women among thousands of men， the culture shock is palpable。 It does not hit home until she moves to a spartan， isolated worksite for higher pay。 Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet never discussed。 For young Katie， her wounds may never heal。
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 Rocky Mountains。 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。
Arriving in Fort McMurray， Katie finds work in the lucrative camps owned and operated by the world's largest oil companies。 As one of the few women among thousands of men， the culture shock is palpable。 It does not hit home until she moves to a spartan， isolated worksite for higher pay。 Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet never discussed。 For young Katie， her wounds may never heal。
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 Rocky Mountains。 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
Beth Bissmeyer
，
Kate Beaton's immersive graphic memoir about her time working in the oil fields of Alberta stays with you and rightly deserves a place in the graphic memoir canon。 In Ducks， Beaton places you in a complicated world that few outsiders understand。 Without ever using internal monologue， Beaton shows through character dialogue how this extractive industry causes harm well beyond environmental damage， taking a significant toll on people's health， relationships， identity， and dignity。 With her graysca Kate Beaton's immersive graphic memoir about her time working in the oil fields of Alberta stays with you and rightly deserves a place in the graphic memoir canon。 In Ducks， Beaton places you in a complicated world that few outsiders understand。 Without ever using internal monologue， Beaton shows through character dialogue how this extractive industry causes harm well beyond environmental damage， taking a significant toll on people's health， relationships， identity， and dignity。 With her grayscale illustrations， Beaton also effectively conveys how expansive， isolating， and， at times， beautiful， these fields are。 A must read。P。S。 Take off the dust jacket for a perfect surprise。 。。。more
Jenny Lawson
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I adored Hark！ A Vagrant！ so when I saw Kate Beaton had a new graphic novel coming out I immediately grabbed it。 This is not a silly collection of smart comics。 It's so much more。 It's a retelling of the author's year spent working in the Northern Alberta oil sands and that sounds like it should be sort of boring， but it wasn't at all。 I felt like I was there with her， exploring this strange world。 It's angsty and gritty and true。 It's also quite long， which I appreciate in a graphic novel since I adored Hark！ A Vagrant！ so when I saw Kate Beaton had a new graphic novel coming out I immediately grabbed it。 This is not a silly collection of smart comics。 It's so much more。 It's a retelling of the author's year spent working in the Northern Alberta oil sands and that sounds like it should be sort of boring， but it wasn't at all。 I felt like I was there with her， exploring this strange world。 It's angsty and gritty and true。 It's also quite long， which I appreciate in a graphic novel since they often are over before I really get to love the characters。 I recommend。 。。。more
Katrina
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So powerful and thought-provoking - particularly on the experiences of women in male-dominated industries。 It made me feel so much rage and sadness， and so much admiration for Kate （and her art is truly brilliant here too） - there’s a sense of hope in the solidarity amongst friends and the sharing of stories when they find the right people。
Meredith Ann
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ARC courtesy of the publisher。 This is an incredible book and a powerful memoir， one you will not be able to put down （but will need to at times）。 I wanted to cry at times reading this， laugh at others， but overall I was engrossed in Kate's world during her time working and living in the oil sands。 There's references to some of Beaton's other works that longtime fans will appreciate。 A front runner for my favorite book of the year。 ARC courtesy of the publisher。 This is an incredible book and a powerful memoir， one you will not be able to put down （but will need to at times）。 I wanted to cry at times reading this， laugh at others， but overall I was engrossed in Kate's world during her time working and living in the oil sands。 There's references to some of Beaton's other works that longtime fans will appreciate。 A front runner for my favorite book of the year。 。。。more
Librariann
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**I received a DRC of this book from the publisher， because I am a librarian and librarians are awesome**Can't decide if this is 4 or 5 stars。 Can't decide what I want to say about it yet。 It was。。。 a lot that I wouldn't have imagined back when I was reading Hark a Vagrant back in the OOs。Stay tuned。（It's not often that I read an ARC and decide straight forth that I'm going to buy a copy when it comes out。 This is a book that I'm going to buy when it comes out） **I received a DRC of this book from the publisher， because I am a librarian and librarians are awesome**Can't decide if this is 4 or 5 stars。 Can't decide what I want to say about it yet。 It was。。。 a lot that I wouldn't have imagined back when I was reading Hark a Vagrant back in the OOs。Stay tuned。（It's not often that I read an ARC and decide straight forth that I'm going to buy a copy when it comes out。 This is a book that I'm going to buy when it comes out） 。。。more
Venneh
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Fellow reviewers please note - there is a note from Kate at the end of this， PLEASE FUCKING READ IT and also respect it。 This is a graphic novel about Kate’s three years working in the oil sands to pay off her student loans （which， big fucking mood）， but it’s also about the environment and all of the little things that roll and roll and roll together until in the end you realize the full scale of what you’re looking at， and the small slight chips that slowly wear you down。 If you’ve been followi Fellow reviewers please note - there is a note from Kate at the end of this， PLEASE FUCKING READ IT and also respect it。 This is a graphic novel about Kate’s three years working in the oil sands to pay off her student loans （which， big fucking mood）， but it’s also about the environment and all of the little things that roll and roll and roll together until in the end you realize the full scale of what you’re looking at， and the small slight chips that slowly wear you down。 If you’ve been following her since Hark！， you’ll see bits and pieces of very familiar things peeking through。 this is going to appear on a lot of year end review lists for a reason。 My personal recommendation is that at several points I had to put it down because I was sobbing so hard， but also laughing so hard。 You know this juxtaposition if you’ve read her other stuff。 This is her first foray into autobiographical storytelling but it hits perfectly。 Preorder it now。 。。。more
Margaret
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This is such a brilliant memoir， powerful， empathetic， kind， relentless。 Kate Beaton spent 2 years working in the oil sands in Alberta to pay off her student loans， and experienced relentless misogyny while working there， yet she also couldn't help but see that these men could've been her father， brother， cousins， friends。 I love intimate glimpses into really specific groups like this， part sociology and part memoir。 I would not have normally picked this one up but I'm so glad I did。Content warn This is such a brilliant memoir， powerful， empathetic， kind， relentless。 Kate Beaton spent 2 years working in the oil sands in Alberta to pay off her student loans， and experienced relentless misogyny while working there， yet she also couldn't help but see that these men could've been her father， brother， cousins， friends。 I love intimate glimpses into really specific groups like this， part sociology and part memoir。 I would not have normally picked this one up but I'm so glad I did。Content warnings for rape， misogyny， drug overdose， possible suicide， animal death。 。。。more
Julie Ehlers
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If I tell you this book ripped my heart out of my chest， would that make you want to read it？I was already a big fan of Kate Beaton’s Hark！ A Vagrant！ collections， but Ducks， a memoir in comics， was a different experience entirely。 Having graduated from college with an arts degree， and motivated by student loan debt and a lack of opportunities in her native Cape Breton， Beaton takes a job in the oil sands of Alberta。 The oil sands are probably familiar to most Canadians， but for the rest of us: If I tell you this book ripped my heart out of my chest， would that make you want to read it？I was already a big fan of Kate Beaton’s Hark！ A Vagrant！ collections， but Ducks， a memoir in comics， was a different experience entirely。 Having graduated from college with an arts degree， and motivated by student loan debt and a lack of opportunities in her native Cape Breton， Beaton takes a job in the oil sands of Alberta。 The oil sands are probably familiar to most Canadians， but for the rest of us: they’re deposits of heavy crude oil that needs extracting。 They’re pretty isolated， you often have to live on-site， and there are 50 male workers for every female worker。Fifty men for every one woman， in an isolated setting。 When we hear that， we know what it means。 And Beaton does not skimp on any of the dark， ugly details and the toll they took。 But there’s more to this story。 I’m also someone who grew up in an area that you pretty much had to leave in order to get anywhere in life。 For the people who stay， men are still overwhelmingly viewed as the breadwinners， but what do they do when the coal mines empty out and the factories move to other countries？ In the world of Ducks， where do they go when they’ve got an eighth-grade education and the fish are gone and the coal is too？ They move to the oil sands， far from their families and communities， surrounded by other men。 And a few women。 Beaton does not sugarcoat or excuse any of the many harrowing experiences she had in the oil sands， but at the same time she musters far more compassion and tenderness than I could have in a similar situation。 These two elements coexisted in her life， and their coexistence in Ducks is what pushes the book to another level。 The PR materials I got with this book likened it to Maus， Persepolis， and Fun Home—three classics of the form。 I was skeptical of this comparison going in， but not anymore。 All this book needs is the audience。 Please read it。And don’t skip the acknowledgments at the end—there’s a little more to the story。Thank you to Drawn & Quarterly for the review copy of this beautiful book that’s destined to be one of my favorites of the year， and probably of all time。 。。。more
Ben
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Beaton adds her contribution to the pool of recent job-specific graphic memoirs， and it delivers on being thoughtful， compelling， occasionally funny， and very， very personal。
Samantha Fraenkel
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What a stunning and important work。 Destined to become a Canadian classic。
sspspspsps
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I feel so grateful that I was allowed to have access to the young life of one of my favorite authors/artists of all time。 The classic Beaton facial expressions on her characters are so genius， and so familiar。 Such an emotional， hard book。
gigi
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easily the best graphic novel i’ve read this year。 such a power beautiful graphic memoir。 the book isn’t out yet so i don’t want to say too much so i’ll leave it with this quote from the afterword: “There is often a tendency to want to characterize the Northern Alberta oil sands as either entirely good or entirely bad — the jobs and profits vs。 the climate rattling destruction。 But， over my time there， I learned you can have both good and bad at the same time in the same place， and the oil sands easily the best graphic novel i’ve read this year。 such a power beautiful graphic memoir。 the book isn’t out yet so i don’t want to say too much so i’ll leave it with this quote from the afterword: “There is often a tendency to want to characterize the Northern Alberta oil sands as either entirely good or entirely bad — the jobs and profits vs。 the climate rattling destruction。 But， over my time there， I learned you can have both good and bad at the same time in the same place， and the oil sands defy any easy characterization。” 。。。more
Laura Sackton
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This is a remarkable book。
Danielle
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Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review。 Ducks is a really different Kate Beaton than the one you might know from Hark！ A Vagrant， The Princess and the Pony， or King Baby。 In this first venture into memoir， Beaton gives us a look into her years spent working for an oil company hundreds of miles away from home as a means of paying off her student debt。 Alberta's oil boom brings east coast Canadians to the rural and isolated Fort McMurray， far from family and Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review。 Ducks is a really different Kate Beaton than the one you might know from Hark！ A Vagrant， The Princess and the Pony， or King Baby。 In this first venture into memoir， Beaton gives us a look into her years spent working for an oil company hundreds of miles away from home as a means of paying off her student debt。 Alberta's oil boom brings east coast Canadians to the rural and isolated Fort McMurray， far from family and all that they love， in the hopes of supporting their families。 After graduation， Kate decides to follow the money despite her family's protests。After a suggestion from a family friend to go for a job in the tool crib， one of the safer and more profitable positions， Kate moves with little more than the clothes on her back in hopes of quickly paying off her student loans so she can someday pursue her dreams of art。 The landscape of the Oil Sands is a far cry from home， but even worse is the depression， isolation， and frequent sexual harassment。 As one of only a few women out of hundreds of men， everywhere Kate turns she is objectified and insulted。 She watches men her father's age， with families back home， behave in a lecherous manner。 Her door knob is regularly rattled at night。 She even returns to her room one evening to find a stranger waiting inside。 People change in the Oil Sands。 Kate included。This is a multifaceted story of trauma。 Even as she battles harassment at the hands of her colleagues， Kate can recognize what the environment of Fort McMurray inspires in a person， how one can become hardened， desensitized， and broken by the experience。 As she watches colleagues become maimed， depressed， crushed under the isolation， or even physically crushed by the dangerous equipment， die by suicide， it's difficult to reconcile the high wages with the ultimate cost。 Juxtaposed next to the conversation surrounding what， exactly， the Oil Sands is doing to the land from which it takes， readers are left wondering what is ultimately lost and， if anything is gained， who's got it？The style， while undeniably Beaton， is a far cry from the caricature presented in her webcomics or children's books。 In shades of gray， Ducks is stark， serious， with only occasional moments of cartoonish levity。 Stylistically it's somewhat divorced from the bug-eyed Pony or the steamy Heathcliffes of Beaton's past work — that was fiction， this is real life。 I hope to see more stories like this from Kate in the future。 She's got a knack for humor， but Ducks proves she has the chops for more serious non-fiction。 Thoughtful， heartbreaking， and dark， Ducks is undoubtedly one of the best graphic novels I've encountered this year。 。。。more
Winnie
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Phenomenal。 Ducks was honest and heartbreaking and soberingly real in a way that I never expected。 We are all the titular ducks。
Sarah S
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I received an advance reader copy from the publisher。I look forward to reading this again in print to better appreciate the details in Beaton's art， which is so full of emotion and character。 I've been reading her comics since she was publishing on Livejournal， and I had a general impression about her work in the oil sands from those early comics， but like most readers I'm more familiar with her fun and wacky comics。 This book is not that。 This is a sensitive and thoughtful memoir about a diffic I received an advance reader copy from the publisher。I look forward to reading this again in print to better appreciate the details in Beaton's art， which is so full of emotion and character。 I've been reading her comics since she was publishing on Livejournal， and I had a general impression about her work in the oil sands from those early comics， but like most readers I'm more familiar with her fun and wacky comics。 This book is not that。 This is a sensitive and thoughtful memoir about a difficult time period in anyone's life: when you are learning how to be yourself in the world as an adult。 That this growth is happening in such an extreme environment heightens everything。 I am confident that this book will make for an excellent book club discussion title。 。。。more
Sam - Read & Buried
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Ducks is a graphic memoir about the author's experience working in the oil sands in Alberta。 I'll admit I really wasn't familiar with the setting at all， so it was really interesting to get a glimpse into mid-2000s Canada。 Beaton is unflinching in showing her experience as a woman in a very male field， and I could tell as I was reading that this will be a story that stays with me for a long time。 As far as execution goes， this is the perfect graphic memoir。 I'm grateful that Beaton is willing to Ducks is a graphic memoir about the author's experience working in the oil sands in Alberta。 I'll admit I really wasn't familiar with the setting at all， so it was really interesting to get a glimpse into mid-2000s Canada。 Beaton is unflinching in showing her experience as a woman in a very male field， and I could tell as I was reading that this will be a story that stays with me for a long time。 As far as execution goes， this is the perfect graphic memoir。 I'm grateful that Beaton is willing to share this part of herself， and I'm glad I was able to read it。 Thank you to Drawn & Quarterly and NetGalley for providing a copy for review。 。。。more
Méli
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ARC provided by DQugly sobbing， maybe the best graphic of 2022*start of Hack！ A Vagrant and pony， bittersweet apparence of Becky
Maria
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Read the ARC on NetGalley。I’ve loved Kate Beaton’s work for years and was very excited waiting for this book。 I’m grateful to have had the chance to read an ARC of it so I can recommend it to others。 A beautiful telling of a tumultuous time in a young woman’s life surrounded by men and the weight so responsibility to “make it” in the world。 I don’t think that perfectly summarizes the book， but I want to respect Kate Beaton’s wishes to not say to much about this so readers can go in and truly exp Read the ARC on NetGalley。I’ve loved Kate Beaton’s work for years and was very excited waiting for this book。 I’m grateful to have had the chance to read an ARC of it so I can recommend it to others。 A beautiful telling of a tumultuous time in a young woman’s life surrounded by men and the weight so responsibility to “make it” in the world。 I don’t think that perfectly summarizes the book， but I want to respect Kate Beaton’s wishes to not say to much about this so readers can go in and truly experience what she went through。 I hope we get more stories in the same vein of storytelling as this， whether or not it’s biographical， historical， fictional， or whatnot。 I was hooked immediately。Thank you for share this part of your life， Kate Beaton。 。。。more
Kathleen
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From the Afterword: "There is often a tendency to want to characterize the Northern Alberta oil sands as either entirely good or entirely bad--the jobs and profit vs。 the climate rattling destruction。 But over my time there， I learned you can have both good and bad at the same time and in the same place， and the oil sands defy any easy characterization。" From the Afterword: "There is often a tendency to want to characterize the Northern Alberta oil sands as either entirely good or entirely bad--the jobs and profit vs。 the climate rattling destruction。 But over my time there， I learned you can have both good and bad at the same time and in the same place， and the oil sands defy any easy characterization。" 。。。more
Andréa
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Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss。
Kennedy
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Wow。 I wasn't expecting a light read based simply on the fact that it's set in the Oil Sands， but it still was a gut punch。 Living in Wyoming， with its boom and bust economy based heavily on energy resources， I felt a connection to the story even though I've never worked in the field。 There's one scene in particular when an Alberta resident gets mad at the transplants who were trash talking the area that really resonated。 This book addresses many serious issues， but there are moments of humor。 Wow。 I wasn't expecting a light read based simply on the fact that it's set in the Oil Sands， but it still was a gut punch。 Living in Wyoming， with its boom and bust economy based heavily on energy resources， I felt a connection to the story even though I've never worked in the field。 There's one scene in particular when an Alberta resident gets mad at the transplants who were trash talking the area that really resonated。 This book addresses many serious issues， but there are moments of humor。 。。。more
Amanda [Novel Addiction]
，
This is far from Kate Beaton's usual content， and that's why this took me so long to read （also because I got a digital arc and it was only downloaded on one computer）。 This was。。。 a tough read， but worth it。 This is far from Kate Beaton's usual content， and that's why this took me so long to read （also because I got a digital arc and it was only downloaded on one computer）。 This was。。。 a tough read， but worth it。 。。。more
Tina
，
Wow！ Amazing how beautiful and effective a graphic novel can be in telling a personal narrative。
Kelsey
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As someone who has been following Kate Beaton since the very beginnings of Hark！ A Vagrant， this felt like a triumph。 I've seen variations of the stories in Ducks on her various social medias for years， but the final product is so heartfelt and tender and conflicted and perfect。 She's so good at bookending moments that are absolute gut-punches with her candid humor。 There's a frame about three quarters of the way through where her supervisor makes a face that she has drawn EXACTLY like those goo As someone who has been following Kate Beaton since the very beginnings of Hark！ A Vagrant， this felt like a triumph。 I've seen variations of the stories in Ducks on her various social medias for years， but the final product is so heartfelt and tender and conflicted and perfect。 She's so good at bookending moments that are absolute gut-punches with her candid humor。 There's a frame about three quarters of the way through where her supervisor makes a face that she has drawn EXACTLY like those goofy old comics from Hark！ A Vagrant， and it was such a delightful reminder of how far she has come in this industry。 Ducks is a beautiful look at a complicated and lonely time in Beaton's life， and I highly， highly recommend it。Also， she includes a note at the end requesting to not include content warnings in reviews。 And I know that even mentioning this is a little bit of a content warning， so I apologize but just please be cautious going into Ducks and know your limits。 ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Brandon Forsyth
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Destined to be a classic。 More to come when this releases into the wider world。
Jessica Mae Stover
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