Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
A New York Times Notable book! One of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2022! Winner of Canada Reads 2023!
“An exceptionally beautiful book about loneliness, labor, and survival.“—Carmen Maria Machado
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.
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Community Reviews
It's a fun light read with great dialogue. The drawings are simple yet convey all needed emotions. But there are some issues with how it's constructed. I think this will be engaging for all, but it definitely has a ton of bias that makes it a clunky and melodramatic read at times. A slice-of-life story that never really moves to anywhere concrete as the writer just shows how she, or a character based on her, worked in the outskirts of Canada with a bunch of men in a oil field. A camp where everyone lived together so this 22 year old very attractive woman needed to learn fast. She wanted to work there to earn enough to repay her student loans for a useless BA arts degree.
She claims she's plain looking yet some new 40 year old man is hitting on her constantly. At times it's all that's happening. She hands out tools and they come around to hit on her. She is slowly loosing her mind. Yet when she takes a job at a museum it doesn't pay nearly as well and she has to go back. The new office job is more calm. The whole flirting thing is extremely. More men hit on her in a week, it seems, than most people experience in a full lifetime. It's absolutely shocking. Yet we have to note it's her own retelling. I'm sure other stuff happened too yet she writes about how hot everyone thinks she is. It feels like a story with her just bragging about her looks which is understandable for a young woman as that's surely a key factor for her self worth. Yet it never quite feels fully real because she initially refuses to show us events where dirty old men didn't hit on her. Other stuff must have been happening too. It's weird. I see men online write how they can go 10 years without a single person flirting with them. And here is a person who collects events men would do anything for. And she feels it's hell. I never see a resource as a negative. But if she is unable to handle it and make use of it I can see how it would overwhelm her somehow. Though it's not shown in a realistic way here.
At one point in her first time at camp she gets drunk at a party. She walks into the bedroom of a young tall man with him. And then stuff happens. As drawn here it looked like a hook up she set up as she walked into his room with him clearly verbally hinting at it. Yet this is later explained as an encounter she didn't want. So I wonder what is missing from the panels and drawings as they seem off. Maybe a push or some greater lie by him? Most of the encounters is stuff she doesn't want. Yet she never tells her boss. And furthermore she got the job by lying about her qualifications. So overall her storytelling and personality seems devious and unnatural. She lied to get the job and then once she's there she's way out of her depth and can't handle it mentally. And this is exactly why you don't lie about this stuff, ever. You get yourself into a huge mess risking your life. Yet she never tells her boss about sexual harassment. So when she tells her sister about it we start to wonder why she's this childish. And why she doesn't want to improve her workplace and make it more productive by giving them critical feedback. It's also weird how much she's alone and refuses to date. Even doesn't really talk to the other women at camp. Making her own life quite a bit more dangerous. If she had a boyfriend and more female friends many men would leave her alone. Does she want the attention? Overall the plot structure is making it seem off. But I actually think in real life all the stuff I talk about did happen as she clearly is able to fully describe all events so she must have understood them to be able to recall them.
At the end she's complaining to her boss for the first time in 3 years. She wants a bonus and uses the sexual harassment to get sympathy. Then goes into a whole "I tried nothing and am all out of ideas" spiel. Even when he directly tells her she needs to tell him such stuff SHE then tells him it's not how it works. Her own boss is not the one deciding how things work? But she was 25 at this point I guess so this would explain the extreme immaturity.
Though after reading it I do assume she exaggerated her ignorance a tad and made her into a greater victim of events with no proactive behavior. She not only didn't date she also didn't know how to say no to men. Just trying to remain nothing. I think many fully hated this camp in the middle of nowhere so they tried to not be themselves. But her own story was surely one that would make her seem a tad smarter and more sympathetic. Maybe she didn't lie to get the job? Could be a lie to tell a more interesting story. At the end she tells us there were "men" who had sex with her against her will. Multiple? Even this one case is an extremely badly explained mystery that never makes sense - in the comic book format. And there are more? The story is about this very theme so why skip other such events?
I think the lesson is ... tell the truth. At multiple times the truth could potentially have changed everything yet we never find out as it is never told. I know such companies are extremely eager to improve everything. Improving work conditions to keep workers long-term can save them millions if not billions. Her few stories could potentially have saved them tens of millions over 10 years. So this would for sure be something they are extremely interested in. But at times you need to talk to the highest leadership not managers. Managers don't really have an overview they are there to manage single people. While a CEO will know what needs to be done. Of course when such stuff happens and papers write about it the company loses millions too. And here a journalist called the main character. She again didn't want to tell her anything. It's a hint to all companies. Don't burn cash. Seek feedback, seek it weekly. And make sure it's 100% safe to give feedback. Maybe it was safe in this company? But she never felt it was for some mystery reason so you never know what baggage people bring with them. And then a million unwritten rules.
She claims she's plain looking yet some new 40 year old man is hitting on her constantly. At times it's all that's happening. She hands out tools and they come around to hit on her. She is slowly loosing her mind. Yet when she takes a job at a museum it doesn't pay nearly as well and she has to go back. The new office job is more calm. The whole flirting thing is extremely. More men hit on her in a week, it seems, than most people experience in a full lifetime. It's absolutely shocking. Yet we have to note it's her own retelling. I'm sure other stuff happened too yet she writes about how hot everyone thinks she is. It feels like a story with her just bragging about her looks which is understandable for a young woman as that's surely a key factor for her self worth. Yet it never quite feels fully real because she initially refuses to show us events where dirty old men didn't hit on her. Other stuff must have been happening too. It's weird. I see men online write how they can go 10 years without a single person flirting with them. And here is a person who collects events men would do anything for. And she feels it's hell. I never see a resource as a negative. But if she is unable to handle it and make use of it I can see how it would overwhelm her somehow. Though it's not shown in a realistic way here.
At one point in her first time at camp she gets drunk at a party. She walks into the bedroom of a young tall man with him. And then stuff happens. As drawn here it looked like a hook up she set up as she walked into his room with him clearly verbally hinting at it. Yet this is later explained as an encounter she didn't want. So I wonder what is missing from the panels and drawings as they seem off. Maybe a push or some greater lie by him? Most of the encounters is stuff she doesn't want. Yet she never tells her boss. And furthermore she got the job by lying about her qualifications. So overall her storytelling and personality seems devious and unnatural. She lied to get the job and then once she's there she's way out of her depth and can't handle it mentally. And this is exactly why you don't lie about this stuff, ever. You get yourself into a huge mess risking your life. Yet she never tells her boss about sexual harassment. So when she tells her sister about it we start to wonder why she's this childish. And why she doesn't want to improve her workplace and make it more productive by giving them critical feedback. It's also weird how much she's alone and refuses to date. Even doesn't really talk to the other women at camp. Making her own life quite a bit more dangerous. If she had a boyfriend and more female friends many men would leave her alone. Does she want the attention? Overall the plot structure is making it seem off. But I actually think in real life all the stuff I talk about did happen as she clearly is able to fully describe all events so she must have understood them to be able to recall them.
At the end she's complaining to her boss for the first time in 3 years. She wants a bonus and uses the sexual harassment to get sympathy. Then goes into a whole "I tried nothing and am all out of ideas" spiel. Even when he directly tells her she needs to tell him such stuff SHE then tells him it's not how it works. Her own boss is not the one deciding how things work? But she was 25 at this point I guess so this would explain the extreme immaturity.
Though after reading it I do assume she exaggerated her ignorance a tad and made her into a greater victim of events with no proactive behavior. She not only didn't date she also didn't know how to say no to men. Just trying to remain nothing. I think many fully hated this camp in the middle of nowhere so they tried to not be themselves. But her own story was surely one that would make her seem a tad smarter and more sympathetic. Maybe she didn't lie to get the job? Could be a lie to tell a more interesting story. At the end she tells us there were "men" who had sex with her against her will. Multiple? Even this one case is an extremely badly explained mystery that never makes sense - in the comic book format. And there are more? The story is about this very theme so why skip other such events?
I think the lesson is ... tell the truth. At multiple times the truth could potentially have changed everything yet we never find out as it is never told. I know such companies are extremely eager to improve everything. Improving work conditions to keep workers long-term can save them millions if not billions. Her few stories could potentially have saved them tens of millions over 10 years. So this would for sure be something they are extremely interested in. But at times you need to talk to the highest leadership not managers. Managers don't really have an overview they are there to manage single people. While a CEO will know what needs to be done. Of course when such stuff happens and papers write about it the company loses millions too. And here a journalist called the main character. She again didn't want to tell her anything. It's a hint to all companies. Don't burn cash. Seek feedback, seek it weekly. And make sure it's 100% safe to give feedback. Maybe it was safe in this company? But she never felt it was for some mystery reason so you never know what baggage people bring with them. And then a million unwritten rules.
How women & men behave and are treated in the oil sands industry in Northern Alberta. Why people leave home to make “good” money. Things I had no idea happened up there.
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