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Kate Beaton
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Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands Kindle & comiXology

by Kate Beaton (Author, Artist) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 out of 5 stars 1,390 ratings
Goodreads Choice Award nominee
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  1. Will Eisner Comic Industry AwardsWinner, 2023
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“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 Beatons, 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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  1. Part of Series
    Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
  2. Print length
    425 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Drawn and Quarterly
  5. Publication date
    September 13, 2022
  6. File size
    672.8 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Not Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Not Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A monumental synthesis of history, politics, and herself.” ―Vulture

“Epic. Kate Beaton headed west [to] one of the world’s most environmentally destructive oil operations, where workers lived in barracks-like camps and men vastly outnumbered women. Her experience there… gave her an insider’s view into a place and piece of Canadian history few outsiders ever see.” ―The New York Times

“Ducks... is a rebuttal to hierarchies of silence, an attempt to draw attention to forms of suffering that are easier to ignore.” ―The New Yorker

“What a difficult, gorgeous and abidingly humane book.” ―The Guardian

“Kate Beaton's exceptionally well-told and well-drawn graphic memoir… full of insights into human and environmental degradation, make[s] her a memoirist of the first rank.” ―The Los Angeles Times

“Ducks is a bruising and intimate account of survival and exploitation―of both the land and the people who worked on it―and is brought to life by Beaton’s immersive illustrations. In unveiling her plight, Beaton makes stunning observations about the intersections of class, gender, and capitalism.” ―TIME

About the Author

Kate Beaton was born and raised in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. After graduating from Mount Allison University with a double degree in History and Anthropology, she moved to Alberta in search of work that would allow her to pay down her student loans. During the years she spent out West, Beaton began creating webcomics under the name Hark! A Vagrant, quickly drawing a substantial following around the world.

The collections of her landmark strip Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside, Pops each spent several months on the New York Times graphic novel bestseller list, as well as appearing on best of the year lists from Time, The Washington Post, Vulture, NPR Books, and winning the Eisner, Ignatz, Harvey, and Doug Wright Awards. She has also published the picture books King Baby and The Princess and the Pony.

Beaton lives in Cape Breton with her family.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B9T99H91
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Drawn and Quarterly (September 13, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 13, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 672.8 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 425 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 1,390 ratings

About the author

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Kate Beaton

Kate Beaton

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Kate Beaton is a Canadian cartoonist who appeared in the comics scene in 2007 with her online work Hark! A Vagrant! Since then, she has become a fan favourite and has garnered a significant following, with illustrations appearing in places like the New Yorker, Harper’s, and Marvel’s Strange Tales anthology. Her first book with D+Q, Hark! A Vagrant, spent five months on the New York Times bestseller list, and topped best of the year lists from Time, E!, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly. Beaton's cartoons often display a wonderfully light touch on historical and literary topics. The jokes are a knowing look at history through a very modern perspective, and a campaign against anyone with the idea that history is boring.

The Princess and the Pony, Kate's first picture book came out with Scholastic in July 2015 to starred reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, and many others. In September 2015, her second comic collection Step Aside, Pops, will be released through Drawn and Quarterly.

Kate Beaton lives in Toronto, Canada.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
1,390 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this graphic novel to be an amazing read with powerful storytelling. The book features simple illustrations that create a vivid picture, and customers describe it as well written and easy to consume. They appreciate its empathetic approach, with one customer noting how it addresses difficult topics with humanity.

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36 customers mention "Heartfelt story"32 positive4 negative

Customers praise the graphic novel's storytelling, describing it as a powerful and poignant narrative that takes guts to share.

"...There is so much life in just the line work, let alone the excellent narrative...." Read more

"...It covers such slice of life moments - the mundane, the everyday, the micro...." Read more

"...It is autobiographical based on the author's experiences, and she does go on after her experiences to become a renowned author/cartoonist...." Read more

"Fascinating story of a young girl from Nova Scotia working in the oil sands in a male dominated work force. Great graphics." Read more

26 customers mention "Readability"23 positive3 negative

Customers find the book readable and powerful, with one mentioning it is particularly suitable for younger readers.

"...It is excellent! I had to force myself to not read the entire thing in a single sitting...." Read more

"I loved this book. Its one of profound contradictions like the people and work portrayed here...." Read more

"...Great graphics." Read more

"This is less a review of the book itself, which is already a very enjoyable read with a deceptively simple premise and aesthetic that cleverly..." Read more

22 customers mention "Art style"22 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the art style of the book, describing it as stunning with simple illustrations.

"...Like some of the best art, its made me appreciate people and life by the stories and characters it shows...." Read more

"...Great graphics." Read more

"It's a gorgeous book - the recipient was thrilled" Read more

"...The art is simple, the dialogue is spare, and the story follows a straightforward track as Beaton moves through various work locations and..." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing quality"11 positive3 negative

Customers find the book well written and easy to consume.

"...Just like Beaton's art, there is a deceptive simplicity to this book. There is so much life in just the line work, let alone the excellent narrative...." Read more

"I bought this book thinking (1), it'll be easy to consume, (2) I'll learn something about Canadian culture, (3) it'll at some point shed a light on..." Read more

"...book itself, which is already a very enjoyable read with a deceptively simple premise and aesthetic that cleverly discusses the human and..." Read more

"...At times funny, heartwarming, and tragic, a fantastically written and drawn work that I have to highly recommend!" Read more

11 customers mention "Empathy"11 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's empathetic and honest approach, with one customer noting how it addresses difficult topics with humanity.

"...enrapture you with its profoundly deep sense of community, place, and empathy...." Read more

"...My favorite aspects of the book were that it addressed difficult topics with humanity and compassion and even though this topics are intellectually..." Read more

"This is a powerful, haunting, truthful, beautifully told and illustrated recounting of Kate Beaton's times working off student debt as one of the..." Read more

"...herself and fellow workers are vivid, poignant, and always humane and honest." Read more

3 customers mention "Graphic novel quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the graphic novel quality of the book.

"...reference to the genesis of it here, but Ducks is a far more serious graphic novel...." Read more

"...A powerful story and an exemplary graphic novel." Read more

"Possibly a top 10 all-time standalone graphic novel for me...." Read more

Astounding Service
5 out of 5 stars
Astounding Service
This is less a review of the book itself, which is already a very enjoyable read with a deceptively simple premise and aesthetic that cleverly discusses the human and environmental tolls of resource mining. This is a review of the excellent conditions and shipping time of the booksellers. The book arrived way ahead of schedule and was so well kept it was practically like I picked it up from the bookstore myself. Noteworthy service!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I'm a longtime Hark! A Vagrant fan, so all the incentive I needed to read this book was that it was by Kate Beaton. It is excellent! I had to force myself to not read the entire thing in a single sitting. Just like Beaton's art, there is a deceptive simplicity to this book. There is so much life in just the line work, let alone the excellent narrative. This book will hurt you for sure, but along the way it will entertain you with its unyielding sense of humor and enrapture you with its profoundly deep sense of community, place, and empathy. The Canadian in me is always happy to see the breakout success of another Canadian; and the human in me is just happy this book exists at all. (But to everyone else's point, the amazon shipping leaves something to be desired. My jacket was also a bit creased and messed up. I really should have just bought this from my local comic shop.)
    5 people found this helpful
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  • johnnywendy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Profound capture of life in the oilmsands
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I loved this book. Its one of profound contradictions like the people and work portrayed here. It covers such slice of life moments - the mundane, the everyday, the micro. And it covers the bigger picture - the patterns, gender, the macro.

    Life isn't easy. Certainly not for the men in the camps. And especially not for the women in them. With Beaton's more minimal art, she's able to portray how life was in the camp and her perspective through it. Its a topic I frankly new little about and an environment I can't imagine.

    Like some of the best art, its made me appreciate people and life by the stories and characters it shows. I don't want to take anything away from this wonderful book - just go read it!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Cosmic Dust Bunny
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, imformative, important and compassionate
    Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I bought this book thinking (1), it'll be easy to consume, (2) I'll learn something about Canadian culture, (3) it'll at some point shed a light on the environmental harms that oil drilling causes, and (4) there'll be a redeeming ending. I was right about (2) and (3). Easy to consume? Not as easy as I thought and whether or not the ending is redeeming, the author Beaton leaves to the reader to determine. It is autobiographical based on the author's experiences, and she does go on after her experiences to become a renowned author/cartoonist. However, one questions whether these experiences, that were part of her path to get there, justify the means, and there is no overarching message that wraps everything up neatly "in a bow".

    This book was even more important that I anticipated it to be and while it does speak to certain aspects of Canadian culture (mostly regional), the lessons can be applied beyond that context. My favorite aspects of the book were that it addressed difficult topics with humanity and compassion and even though this topics are intellectually and emotionally difficult, the medium is easier to consumer than perhaps other mediums. Highly recommend.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating story and great graphics
    Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Fascinating story of a young girl from Nova Scotia working in the oil sands in a male dominated work force. Great graphics.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • Lyuba Dutchak
    5.0 out of 5 stars A both pragmatic and intimate window into the effects of economic displacement on the working class
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Beaton's autobiographical account puts the reader into the position of a working class young person making the most practical economic decision for herself - and therefore exposing herself to the surreal realities that post-NAFTA capitalism and environmental crisis life have created for not only working class families in Canada, but to the lands and lifestyle they once loved and cherished.

    In these pages that plainly display slice of life interactions without exaggeration or fanfare, the experience is natural and never preachy. Behind the grounded focus on day to day life, the economic system of worship of money over human-to-human relationships and human-to-nature relationships is the understated undercurrent. From that current rises the dust covered, inherently temporary, inherently not-treated-as-a-home, world of the oil sands and work camps and the psychology that they create, which Beaton unflinchingly examines.

    I, too, chose to avoid the pit of student loans, but rather in the United States and by joining the US Army as a female soldier. These accounts would be very poignant to any female veteran, especially anyone who has been on a combat deployment. I highly recommend it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Max Gray
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful artwork and writing
    Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    It's a gorgeous book - the recipient was thrilled
    Helpful
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  • Stuck in Nova
    5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing, if sometimes dark, memoir of work, solitude, and taking a pragmatic path in life.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    What do you do, when your only viable financial prospects are to move to even more remote, cold, dark and desolate land where you are part of a corporate mining operation dredging sands for valuable resources, living onsite in a company owned dormitory? Beaton recalls all this in her memoir of her post-university time, where she was faced with this decision to either live and work the oil sands, or face a life of financial bondage trying to pay back student loans, a decision we see many of her own countrymen face as their only viable means to survive.

    If you are familiar with Beaton's comic strip work, you'll see familiar reference to the genesis of it here, but Ducks is a far more serious graphic novel. Both engaging and often times bleak, Ducks gives a wonderful window into the reality of Canada's oil industry, and the humanity of the people, who are nothing more than cogs in a machine, that run it.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Lang
    5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding Service
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is less a review of the book itself, which is already a very enjoyable read with a deceptively simple premise and aesthetic that cleverly discusses the human and environmental tolls of resource mining. This is a review of the excellent conditions and shipping time of the booksellers. The book arrived way ahead of schedule and was so well kept it was practically like I picked it up from the bookstore myself. Noteworthy service!
    Customer image
    Lang
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Astounding Service

    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2024
    This is less a review of the book itself, which is already a very enjoyable read with a deceptively simple premise and aesthetic that cleverly discusses the human and environmental tolls of resource mining. This is a review of the excellent conditions and shipping time of the booksellers. The book arrived way ahead of schedule and was so well kept it was practically like I picked it up from the bookstore myself. Noteworthy service!
    Images in this review
    Customer image
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Gijs van Hesteren
    5.0 out of 5 stars Personal and universal
    Reviewed in the Netherlands on October 2, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    A wonderful tale of lonely people in an uncaring world. They are smart and dumb, good and bad, but all involved in the pursuit of happiness.
    Report
  • Keelin Nicks
    5.0 out of 5 stars Real, heartfelt, and a truly necessary story with fantastic illustrations
    Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    DUCKS is a fantastic read. A unique insight into the experience of a woman in a field dominated by men 50-1. I recommend this book to anyone finding themselves feeling alone and in need of a story of perseverance. This book doesn't shy away from the realities the author and her peers experienced even as what I'm sure is only a fraction of the whole story. This is a necessary piece to add to the fight for equality and a better workplace, and I hope future generations will look at this novel and see the progress made. But in the present, it hits very close to home and sheds light on the progress that needs to be made.

    This book is charming and witty, with beautiful illustrations and dialogue that you can only find from having the experience of working in the oil sands. Ducks will make you laugh just as easily as it grips you in its harsh realities.
    Report
  • Scott Mullen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book about the on site conditions in mining
    Reviewed in Australia on April 21, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This was set in Canada but except for the weather it could be Australian coal or iron ore mines easily - pretty similar conditions and lifestyle when on site
    Report
  • KGBeast
    5.0 out of 5 stars Arbeiten in der fossilen Brennstoffgewinnung - aus ungwohnter Perspektive
    Reviewed in Germany on October 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    ​Von 2005 bis 2008 - ziemlich direkt nach ihrem Abschluss in Geschichte - suchte Kate Beaton aus Mabou/Cape Breton nach einer Möglichkeit ihre Studienschulden schnell abzubezahlen und da es dazu in ihrem Zuhause keine Stellen gab, bewarb sie sich bei Shell als Magazinverwalterin in einem Fördercamp, wo sie - um Geld zu sparen - auch wohnt.

    Doch das Leben in einem ziemlich isolierten Lager in Alberta als eine der wenigen Frauen unter sehr vielen Männern, erweist sich als fordernder, als Katie dies erwartet hatte. Insbesondere auch deswegen, weil sie bis dahin weitestgehend von männlicher Aufmerksamkeit verschont geblieben war. Und Männer unter den damaligen Lebensbedingungen im Camp werden schnell sehr unangenehm - auch, weil die Firma sich wenig um die geistige und emotionale Gesundheit der Belegschaft schert. Und so macht Katie bei ihren Tätigkeiten in verschiedenen Camps so einige traumatisierende Erfahrungen.

    Diese Erfahrungen bilden den Kern dieser Graphic Novel und auch die Mechanismen mit denen die betroffenen Firmen versuchen solche Probleme aufzufangen und zu regeln - und die Techniken, die die Opfer dieser Umstände zum Kompensieren ihrer Traumata und anderen Belastung, anwenden. Und es werden auch noch andere wichtige Aspekt der Arbeit in den Ölsanden behandelt.

    Mit Katie als Reflektorcharakter bekommen wir einen ganz guten Einblick in die Arbeit in den Sanden und können ihre zunehmende Traumatisierung gut nachvollziehen. Eher ein düsteres Comic aus dem alltäglichen Horror.
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  • A. Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible graphic novel
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Brilliant. I will never forget reading this.
    Report

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