Title: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Author: Kate Beaton

Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly 2022

Genre: Graphic Novel Memoir

Pages: 448

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Winter TBR; 52 Book Club

Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark! A Vagrant, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beaton, specifically Mabou, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles, and Gaelic folk songs. With the singular goal of paying off her student loans, 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.

CW: Sexual harassment, rape

Fascinating look at life on an isolated mining facility in Canada. I have enjoyed Beaton’s comedic takes and was intrigued by this memoir. Be advised that this book details her experiences of sexual harassment and rape while working in the Oil Sands. This is not a comedy. This is a look at her life experiences and a discussion of how isolation can affect a person. I enjoyed some of the questions that jumped into my brain while reading. I will most definitely keep Beaton on a must-read list of authors.

Next up on the TBR pile: