Tsundoku rated Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands: 5 stars
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark A Vagrant fame, there was Katie Beaton of …
Author, Voracious Reader, Crocheter of many things, Very Autistic
Languages: EN, ES (B1)
(Pronouns: they / them) Mainly reads: Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi or fantasy), Japanese Literature, Romance, and Fantasy / Sci-fi for adults
https://lapiswrites.xyz - Official ™ Blog with pictures @lapis@booktoot.club - Book & Riverdale account @lapis@elekk.xyz - General Shitposting, sometimes game related
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Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark A Vagrant fame, there was Katie Beaton of …
Content warning CW: Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempts (no successful attempts), bullying by both teacher and peers, take care of yourself reading this
Basically, the only reason I am not giving 5 stars is I would have felt a trigger warning at the beginning of the book (if I find out there was one and I simply didn't see it I will update this) would have been a REALLY good idea. This is an extremely dark anthology. I recommend it, but read with care--I had to take several breaks reading this.
I will say, the people in this book are ultimately hopeful that things ARE improving / will improve.
I am jealous that Japan seems to have better occupational therapy than the place I tried lol.
Read this as it's been nominated for an Ignatz. I still want to read one other nominee, but it's certainly good enough that it deserves to win imo
Temples are built for gods. Knowing this a farmer builds a small temple to see what kind of god turns …
This is a duplicate. Please update your lists. See openlibrary.org/works/OL464662W.
I'll have to read this again, I don't feel like I understood most of it
Content warning Spoilers for the Premise of this retelling; Spoilers for Twelfth Night; CW: Grief, Ableism / Forced Instiltutionalization
Okay, so as a member of Jess Mahler's Street team, I received a free copy of this to review, but it's probably worth noting, I was receiving this serialized as well, so it is Not my first time reading it.
Which is good, because I haven't had any Shakespeare since High School over a decade ago, and I still find him difficult to parse. Most of the dialogue is taken directly from the play, (except for the changing of some lines in regards to the changing of the ending). I must say: Reading this a second time made it a lot easier, but still challenging. For the time being, (as of writing this) I am giving this a 4.5, but I may raise it up later, especially if I can better grasp the the play. I do plan on watching it if I can find a recorded version. It may also get an increased score if it turns out a month from now I can't get this out of my head.
Okay, so in the original play Viola disguises herself as a man named Cesario, I believe as an aid for being an unmarried woman shipwrecked in a foreign land.
The difference being, in Jess Mahler's version, Cesario decides he likes being Cesario, and promises to himself that "the dead will walk before I answer to Viola again" (probably not the line exactly, unfortunately I can't consult the ARC while I write this).
So yes, Cesario is a Trans Man in this telling, so certain end lines have to change, and that's all I'm saying about that aspect. There's a note in the back regarding that in my E-ARC, and I assume the final copy will include a note too.
I'm going to touch on the Malvolio subplot. The Fool regrets his part in the Malvolio subplot, and the whole thing is explicitly shown to be a bad idea. Like yes, trying to drive someone insane, get them declared insane and locked away, seemingly as a prank or revenge for slights seems OVERKILL to me. but maybe that's because I've been institutionalized before, and can assure you: it sucks!
Let's talk about the narration.
The Fool, who narrates this tale, (which I think that's a wonderful choice that I'm going to assume was Mahler's decision at least until I see or read the original play) does a great job with pronouns and names Like Viola / Cesario's pronouns match what She / He feels at that moment (using slashes for clarity, Sorry Cesario I'm not deadnaming you for petty reasons). Like if I were writing a narrative where I wanted a character to transition during it, I think this is the way I'd prefer to go about it. This (and the original play) are worth studying.
Buy it, but remember to take notes!
This is a duplicate. Please update your lists. See openlibrary.org/works/OL464662W.
Finished section 2. I definitely will have to reread this book, there's a lot of stuff I don't feel I'm grasping (but the book also doesn't want you to FEEL you 'know' so maybe that's okay)
When you’re a geriatric armed with nothing but gumption and knitting needles, stopping a sorcerer from wiping out an entire …