100 Days in Uranium City

by Ariane Dénommé, Helge Dascher (Translator), Rob Aspinall (Translator)

Inspired by the stories her father told her, Dénommé sketches a portrait of a Northern mining town in the 1970s. Shifts in the uranium mine last 100 days, followed by two weeks spent adjusting to civilization before returning.

Originally published in French.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Comics, Canada, Sequential Art

144 pages, Paperback

Published September 25, 2018

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the English translation of this book by Ariane Dénommé based on stories his father had told her about working in northern uranium mines in the seventies. The central memorable thing about it is that while good money could be made doing the work, the deal was that you had to work 100 days on, then you got 14 days off to recover. Impossible to make a life out of it.

Another thing I hadn't realized initially when I began reading is that the author is a woman, who conveys a very male working class life with some affection, though the men are mainly focused on beer and that short two week window where they can get back to women who may or may not still be interested in seeing them. Crazy life. A little crude in all respects, the story, the working guy horny perspective, the drawing, and there's not much story here, but it's unpretentious and will somehow stay with me, the tale that eventually focuses on the days in which Dénommé was actually conceived!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

First let me say I read the English translation. A moving story of a man just trying to find work (and himself) as he fights the lonely 100 days he has to work before getting two weeks off to try to catch up with his life back home. Truly a 'must read' GN!

[George Ilsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The back cover suggests the author "sketches a portrait" and that could be true. This is a graphic novel comprised of a series of situations, or sketches, with few words. The reader is supposed to, I guess, connect the dots and fill in the blanks — in other words, the reader's job is to write the story in their head based on this collection of sketches.

However, I almost always complain about graphic novels feeling fragmentary. Possibly, I'm the worst reader of graphic novels. Also currently enduring the worst heat wave in Canadian history (the Pacific Northwest Heat Dome—more than 600 deaths), and actually reading is too hard. Well, as it turns out, looking at sketches is too hard, too. Blame it on the heat.

A more clever reader, or perhaps one who has recently been able to sleep, might do better with this "quiet but powerful read."

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conundrum Press publishes some seriously good, unknown ( to me) cartoonists that have a unique voice. This story is complex and heartbreaking in a way and reveals the multiple layers of life as a young man and his girlfriend struggle through the first years of adulthood. It’s well drawn ( pencil) and simply written and it comes together as a powerful story. Personally I can relate as I live in a mining town myself and some of these themes have played out with guys I grew up with. My parents steered me into teaching but the hard scrabble life of a miner exists throughout my town.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A random dude works in a uranium mine in northern Canada in the 70s. He finds a girlfriend, gets her pregnant, seems a bit adrift. And then it's over. I didn't mind the amateur art, but it would have been nice for the book to have a sharper point.

[Donia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wonder if it’s because I read the English Translation, but I didn’t enjoy this as much as I was expecting to. The storyline was lackluster. At some points, I couldn’t tell who was who, as the character’s didn’t really have any distinct features to differentiate them from the rest.

Besides that, it was still interesting to read about the uranium mine lifestyle and I learnt a few things, such as how shifts are 100 days and 14 days of “vacation”.

[Sara Houle · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai découvert cette BD grâce à une entrevue que l'auteure a fait à l'émission Plus on est de fous, plus on lit. C'était une excellente entrevue, et le sujet me semblait très porteur. Quand je suis allée voir la BD, par contre, je n'étais pas certaine que j'avais envie de la lire : je trouvais que la couverture et le style de dessin ne m'attiraient pas. Puis, une amie (allô Anne-Marie!) m'a parlé de sa visite dans une mine, et de la misère des travailleurs de mine, et ça m'a rappelé cette entrevue. J'ai donc décidé d'aller chercher la BD à la bibli. Et j'ai beaucoup aimé ma lecture! Je me suis fait la réflexion que le style de dessin est cohérent avec l'époque et les personnages qu'elle décrit. Et ça m'a fait réfléchir.

[Vanessa Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Touchant témoignage, reflet fidèle d'une époque qui semble bien lointaine, notamment en raison des communications.

J'ai particulièrement aimé le grain du papier qui laisse paraître le travail de chaque planche.
Bien que j'aie apprécié le silence des cases et toutes les images que ce non-texte évoque, j'aurais aimé que l'histoire soit plus étoffée. Il me semble que la politique aurait eu sa place dans ce récit.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal look of the reality of life on far off job sites where you pick up your whole life for a period of time away from your family. I've known people who are still working in these types of arrangements and could feel how well Denomme was able to bring out the struggles of this type of living.

[Tina Olah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find my full review in Broken Pencil Magazine issue 81!

[Rahul Unnikrishnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biography by the author on her dad and his job that took him away from his love before she was born. To be honest, I wanted to feel his yearning to go home and be sympathetic but having personally experienced the yearning of being away from family years on end, I couldn't really feel sorry for the protagonist. The art in itself flows with ease from panel to panel. Its not intricate and detailed but enjoyable all the same.

[Andree · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai trouvé ce livre intéressant, particulièrement dans le contexte du développement des ressources naturelles au Canada. C'est différent. Je n'ai pas adoré les personnages. Je pense que je voulais plus de détails quand je lisais...

[Dean Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s rough working a job in a remote region for 100 day shifts and only two weeks break when you return home - and then when life starts moving and love comes calling, 100 feels like infinity. Interesting book.

[David Burga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. A loving tribute to her father’s time in mining. I work in the mining industry and I think this story perfectly depicts the struggle in camp life and the imbalance in one’s life between work and home life and the money that can be made in camp vs. poverty outside of it.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yup, small town northern town life. Hit it pretty much on the mark including the Apollo Tavern.

[Liz Yerby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting in how quiet a read it was, but so quiet it was kind of meh, the narrative didn’t go very far

[StrictlySequential ArtNarrative · Rating 3 out of 5]

BDANG series N° 20

I'm giving a very low three here because I didn't like the art- even if it was supposed to create an atmosphere.

[Mkpicketts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not smart enough to connect the dots well enough to have any big great takeaway from this one - very simple and crude and overall enjoyable

[l · Rating 2 out of 5]

similar to ducks but without female insight

[Karine Mon coin lecture · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intéressant pour le thème! Par contre, le trait et moi... ça passe juste moyen!

http://moncoinlecture.com/2017/06/mai...