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Ramshackle
Over the past decade, the North, or at least the idea of it, has slowly made its way back to our consciousness, a notion that the North is synonymous with a lawless, rugged freedom. But at first glance Yellowknife, NWT is actually a somewhat disappointing modern capital city. There are tall buildings, yoga pants, a Walmart and a lot of government jobs. None the less, if you dig a little deeper, you do find that alternative off-grid reality. Barely five minutes from the downtown core, wedged between million dollar houses, you find little shacks where people exist without running water and use honey buckets for toilets.'
When Alison McCreesh moved from Quebec to Yellowknife she quickly fell in love with the quirky ways in which it seemed possible to live up North. Part travelogue, part comic book, part love story and part guide to the North and its quirky inhabitants Ramshackle spans her first summer north of 60.
When Alison McCreesh moved from Quebec to Yellowknife she quickly fell in love with the quirky ways in which it seemed possible to live up North. Part travelogue, part comic book, part love story and part guide to the North and its quirky inhabitants Ramshackle spans her first summer north of 60.
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2015
112 people want to read
About the author
Alison McCreesh
6 books14 followersAlison McCreesh is a Canadian fibre artist, cartoonist and illustrator living in Yellowknife.
After graduating from the University of Quebec with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in 2009, McCreesh traveled extensively throughout Northern Canada. These travels are often the subject of her illustrations, comics and travelogues.
Alison’s books include the graphic novels Ramshackle: A Yellowknife Story (2015) and Degrees of Separation: a Decade North of 60 (2024).
After graduating from the University of Quebec with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in 2009, McCreesh traveled extensively throughout Northern Canada. These travels are often the subject of her illustrations, comics and travelogues.
Alison’s books include the graphic novels Ramshackle: A Yellowknife Story (2015) and Degrees of Separation: a Decade North of 60 (2024).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 7, 2017
THIS IS SO GOOD, people. Exactly what I love about autobiomemoirGNs, travelogues, gorgeous art.... Damn, I probably need to own this.
Partially because it's so underexposed.
McCreesh's full-color illustrations (which remind me a lot of the work in Tokyo on Foot, which is high praise), tell the story of her and her bf's first summer in Yellowknife, a city way up in the Northern Territories of Canada.
As she describes the fairly typical adjustment stresses of moving to a new place, she also covers the unique things about living in the place. She and her partner spend some time living in their van, but also housesitting all over the community, so they see many different kinds of living spaces. Part of the city is built on Rock, so no plumbing is available. For a large portion of the year, the body of water is ice, so canoeing to parties is normal over the summer, but life WILL be different in the winter.
TRLers, check it out for sure, if any of this appeals, while you can get it.
Partially because it's so underexposed.
McCreesh's full-color illustrations (which remind me a lot of the work in Tokyo on Foot, which is high praise), tell the story of her and her bf's first summer in Yellowknife, a city way up in the Northern Territories of Canada.
As she describes the fairly typical adjustment stresses of moving to a new place, she also covers the unique things about living in the place. She and her partner spend some time living in their van, but also housesitting all over the community, so they see many different kinds of living spaces. Part of the city is built on Rock, so no plumbing is available. For a large portion of the year, the body of water is ice, so canoeing to parties is normal over the summer, but life WILL be different in the winter.
TRLers, check it out for sure, if any of this appeals, while you can get it.
January 2, 2019
I quite liked this little graphic novel. You get a bit of what Yellowknife is like, at least from the viewpoint of one couple, and you get to know a bit of the author. I breezed through it and was entertained. The illustrations were well done too.
April 30, 2018
My introduction to McCreesh’s work, and I’m impressed. I enjoy travelogues, of which this is sort of one. I will read her latest book, Norths, but wanted to get a sense of McCreesh from this earlier book.
August 15, 2017
Ramshackle was a random library find for me, and I was initially not entirely sure about it, but I definitely came to enjoy it the more that I read.
My absolute favourite thing about Ramshackle was the gorgeous watercolour art, which McCreesh uses to perfection. The transitions between the black and white images and the full colour are really well done. This is a really interesting story of a city I knew almost nothing about, and it was incredibly informative, and definitely piqued my curiosity. In many ways, it is absolutely nothing like my life in southwestern Ontario.
I was able to draw a comparison that I definitely didn't anticipate: trucked water. I grew up on trucked water. The community I lived in for most of my childhood was too rural to justify laying water pipes. Running water was normal, but the water ran through pipes from a well in the back yard. We had periodic deliveries via water truck to refill the well. We didn't have to have our sewage removed (I don't know exactly how that worked, honestly), but we paid the same man who brought our well water to take our household garbage, as there isn't a community pick up service in the middle of nowhere. It never even occurred to me that some northern communities might get water trucked in for a different reason altogether.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Ramshackle. It was both entertaining and educational. I would definitely recommend it, particularly to fans of graphic memoirs or fans of Canadian things.
My absolute favourite thing about Ramshackle was the gorgeous watercolour art, which McCreesh uses to perfection. The transitions between the black and white images and the full colour are really well done. This is a really interesting story of a city I knew almost nothing about, and it was incredibly informative, and definitely piqued my curiosity. In many ways, it is absolutely nothing like my life in southwestern Ontario.
I was able to draw a comparison that I definitely didn't anticipate: trucked water. I grew up on trucked water. The community I lived in for most of my childhood was too rural to justify laying water pipes. Running water was normal, but the water ran through pipes from a well in the back yard. We had periodic deliveries via water truck to refill the well. We didn't have to have our sewage removed (I don't know exactly how that worked, honestly), but we paid the same man who brought our well water to take our household garbage, as there isn't a community pick up service in the middle of nowhere. It never even occurred to me that some northern communities might get water trucked in for a different reason altogether.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Ramshackle. It was both entertaining and educational. I would definitely recommend it, particularly to fans of graphic memoirs or fans of Canadian things.
August 23, 2016
Yo! I want to move to the Northwest Territory and live in a shack and go to the bathroom in a trash bag! Like, seriously, this book really sold me on the appeal of choosing that experience for oneself. I only wish it had extended beyond the first summer there -- McCreesh and her partner went on to move back, stay, and have a teeny-tiny baby in their ramshackle world. How cool! A recounting of the experience without too much background or navelgazing about what brought her there, what it "meant" to her, the necessity of van/housesitting/shack life being a simplified one, and the very real possibility that there was a fair amont of potsmoking going here (I mean, it's not mentioned, but like....how could there not be!? It's too hippy-cool for that to not be involved!) Anyway, comics can do such a great job of sharing unique and weird experiences, and I am grateful and delighted that McCreesh shared hers. :)
July 29, 2017
I really liked this. You find your person and you cobble together a life out on the edge of things. Yes.
May 3, 2025
My mother lived in Yellowknife when I was 13 so I enjoyed this look at the various neighbourhoods and ways of living. I remember my mum house sitting for people, just as portrayed here.
Nicely drawn and funny / interesting.
I'll definitely look up her book upon the Yukon.
Nicely drawn and funny / interesting.
I'll definitely look up her book upon the Yukon.
December 10, 2025
I really love Alison McCreesh's art style. Reading this book made me want to go outside and draw the area that I live in. The spreads seem a bit busy and chaotic at times, but overall it was a great little story.
February 22, 2017
This is a page-turner. As it moves from wee narrative to historical context to the next wee narrative, it takes you along the floating ride of thoughts, explorations, and experiences of learning about a new place, being on an adventure, and letting life take you where it may.
I especially liked the bits on finding people that they really connected with, and the not-right-fit of a too-large living space.
I especially liked the bits on finding people that they really connected with, and the not-right-fit of a too-large living space.
August 20, 2016
Ramshackle is a good description of this book, as well as a description of the places the two main characters enjoy inhabiting. Life lived simply in the far north is apparently fulfilling. This is good to hear. This is most likely the closest I will ever get to Yellowknife, and I suspect the characterization of the place is close to actuality. Perhaps most impressive is the the soccer Mom van the two intrepid travellers purchase for $650. Where it takes them is beyond the wildest expectation.
November 13, 2018
A nice memoir with history of NWT. I'd love to read a sequel covering topics like winter and a baby in Yellowknife! I found the outsider/gawker tone a little uncomfortable, especially since the reader experiences it two-fold, and the font/handwriting was less readable than I would have liked.
March 18, 2023
I picked this volume up after Comickrakk talked about it and because I haven't been able to get my hands on Kate Beaton's new book Ducks yet.
content notes for nudity, sex, and use of the term "bottom of the totem pole" which, to my understanding is a combination of misunderstanding totem poles and appropriation.
What kinds of keywords came to mind reading this book? Nonfiction, community, housing shortage, class, and the north.
Flipping to the forward, McCreesh shares that "Ramshackle is based on these autographical comic snapshots from our first summer in Yellowknife. I have redrawn them and retroactively added context, where necessary but they remained pretty true to what was most striking to us when we first moved North."
Looking at the art and wordiness. This is a very word heavy book. But generally broken down in a way that is fairly digestible. Although I did find a few places a bit hard to figure out order of dialog boxes initially.
The art was really appealing, and I liked how the colour palette shifted throughout.
And before we switch over to representation and diversity talk, unlike most books I read this one definitely felt very focused on place. Although I do feel like McCreesh could have leaned into it even more.
The other thing that the book seemed largely focused on was class. I would have liked to know a bit more about McCreesh's class... and I wouldn't have minded a bit more information about what other people did for work and the quality of that work. But otherwise she does centre cheaper lifestyles in Yellowknife and I appreciate that.
Gender wasn't really explored but was certainly part of McCreesh' perspective.
Similarly race wasn't overtly explored, and perhaps felt a bit blurred and undefined. That said, sort of a tangent of a tanget to that there was some interesting discussion in the introduction about McCreesh's choice to originally publish this book in English as she mostly worked with francophones.
Sexuality and ability felt fairly ignored as far as I can remember.
Overall a pretty solid four stars.
content notes for nudity, sex, and use of the term "bottom of the totem pole" which, to my understanding is a combination of misunderstanding totem poles and appropriation.
What kinds of keywords came to mind reading this book? Nonfiction, community, housing shortage, class, and the north.
Flipping to the forward, McCreesh shares that "Ramshackle is based on these autographical comic snapshots from our first summer in Yellowknife. I have redrawn them and retroactively added context, where necessary but they remained pretty true to what was most striking to us when we first moved North."
Looking at the art and wordiness. This is a very word heavy book. But generally broken down in a way that is fairly digestible. Although I did find a few places a bit hard to figure out order of dialog boxes initially.
The art was really appealing, and I liked how the colour palette shifted throughout.
And before we switch over to representation and diversity talk, unlike most books I read this one definitely felt very focused on place. Although I do feel like McCreesh could have leaned into it even more.
The other thing that the book seemed largely focused on was class. I would have liked to know a bit more about McCreesh's class... and I wouldn't have minded a bit more information about what other people did for work and the quality of that work. But otherwise she does centre cheaper lifestyles in Yellowknife and I appreciate that.
Gender wasn't really explored but was certainly part of McCreesh' perspective.
Similarly race wasn't overtly explored, and perhaps felt a bit blurred and undefined. That said, sort of a tangent of a tanget to that there was some interesting discussion in the introduction about McCreesh's choice to originally publish this book in English as she mostly worked with francophones.
Sexuality and ability felt fairly ignored as far as I can remember.
Overall a pretty solid four stars.
July 20, 2017
Alison McCreesh's Ramshackle: A Yellowknife Story is a tip of the hat to the often unknown, overlooked and therefore entirely mysterious, quirky and sometimes bizare northern city of Yellowknife.
The Book is told through small, linear ancedotes that form as short chapters, broken up and sewn in to a entirely linear Book with short educational/informational context art pages that bring you up to speed on some of the quirks, history and more of Yellowknife. This format is unique, refreshing and keeps you turning the pages. The Book is funny, lending itself largely to ancedote, utilising the Comic Book Artform to really allow us to understand the experience of assimilating to Yellowknife on the first-hand perspective; and, speaking of Artwork, the Art in the Book is gorgeous, largely comprised of super subtle Watercolour shading and colouring within the Comic Book style outlines.
The only downside is that sometimes the pages and panels can come across as a little cluttered.
Ramshackle is a wonderful, humorous look at the quirks, oddity and mystery of Yellowknife that allows you to understand the Heart, warmth and community of the Northwest Territories capital. Grab yourself a copy, you won't be disappointed!
The Book is told through small, linear ancedotes that form as short chapters, broken up and sewn in to a entirely linear Book with short educational/informational context art pages that bring you up to speed on some of the quirks, history and more of Yellowknife. This format is unique, refreshing and keeps you turning the pages. The Book is funny, lending itself largely to ancedote, utilising the Comic Book Artform to really allow us to understand the experience of assimilating to Yellowknife on the first-hand perspective; and, speaking of Artwork, the Art in the Book is gorgeous, largely comprised of super subtle Watercolour shading and colouring within the Comic Book style outlines.
The only downside is that sometimes the pages and panels can come across as a little cluttered.
Ramshackle is a wonderful, humorous look at the quirks, oddity and mystery of Yellowknife that allows you to understand the Heart, warmth and community of the Northwest Territories capital. Grab yourself a copy, you won't be disappointed!
September 11, 2025
Un récit initiatique, un voyage dans le nord-ouest du Canada... dans ce qu'il y a de plus profond comme territoire 🌲
L'auteure et illustratrice a réalisé ce périple avec son conjoint et elle l'avait documenté sur un blog dessiné ✏️
Ce livre est le recueil de tous ses dessins : ce qui explique le côté chargé, un peu chaotique et fait de bric et de broc de l'ouvrage, chaque planche étant originellement individuelle... mais ça fitte avec l'ambiance et le récit!
Rapide, agréable et dépaysant... une lecture d'été parfaite! 🌞
L'auteure et illustratrice a réalisé ce périple avec son conjoint et elle l'avait documenté sur un blog dessiné ✏️
Ce livre est le recueil de tous ses dessins : ce qui explique le côté chargé, un peu chaotique et fait de bric et de broc de l'ouvrage, chaque planche étant originellement individuelle... mais ça fitte avec l'ambiance et le récit!
Rapide, agréable et dépaysant... une lecture d'été parfaite! 🌞
January 25, 2026
As someone with a bit of a funny parasocial bond with Yellowknife (as far as you can have a -social bond with a place), this was a really nice way to learn more about the spirit of the city through the eyes of someone moving there with the intentions of only staying for once summer. I can imagine that it's somewhat different these days, but probably all the same. Either way: I'm glad I can finally place Ragged Ass Road <3
December 15, 2017
This book was kind of amazing. I may be biased, as I love any book that can capture the feelings of being a Canadian, but I was so impressed by this. The art work is beautiful. The message of the book was beautiful. I loved the exploration and celebration of northern, and canadian life. I loved its quirkiness and honesty.
January 26, 2019
Basically a collection of sketches and diary entries summarizing the author's journey to and experience living in the city of Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories. I enjoyed learning about a region I wasn't previously familiar with. There's not much conflict or drama, and the panels and sketches can be hard to follow, but the real appeal is McCreesh's affection for her adopted home.
June 19, 2019
An extremely fun and quirky yet informative book. Alison as a character is fun to travel along with. I also have a big appreciation for the humour presented that doesn't attempt to hold itself back. And the art!! is!! so detailed and stunning!!
4/5 only for some of the wordy bits I wasn't really interested in.
4/5 only for some of the wordy bits I wasn't really interested in.
January 22, 2020
Picked up this book to prepare myself for a trip to Yellowknife in NWT, Canada. Did not expect the book to be a comic, but I enjoyed imagining myself there through her words and pictures. Looking forward to seeing the "Woodyard" and having bonfires in 0 degree weather having the aurora as our backdrop :)
June 7, 2021
What a fun look at Old Town living.
I moved to Yellowknife in 2008 and had a totally different experience.... though suffered through the bugs in 2009 as well... its never been that bad since.
I really enjoyed following Alison's adventures and learning about Old Town through her eyes. I hope there will be a sequel to Ramshackle.... Kids in a Dragon Shack seems like another great read.
I moved to Yellowknife in 2008 and had a totally different experience.... though suffered through the bugs in 2009 as well... its never been that bad since.
I really enjoyed following Alison's adventures and learning about Old Town through her eyes. I hope there will be a sequel to Ramshackle.... Kids in a Dragon Shack seems like another great read.
August 3, 2017
I loved everything about this - the great artwork, the variety in both providing overall narrative and individual stories alongside context, and especially the overall vibe that reminds me of both why backpacking and roughin' it are so satisfying and fun and why Yellowknife was such a nifty place.
October 22, 2024
This was a gift from my sister, I’ve never really been to, or quite honestly though much of Yellowknife. But it seems like a pretty cool place, I was also inspired by the enthusiasm this novel contained.
September 3, 2017
Charming, with a honey-bucket primer!
June 8, 2022
Oh man now I want to go to Yellowknife and live in a shack!
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July 1, 2023I WANNA GO TO THE TERRITORIES SO BAD!!
February 18, 2024
A must-read when visiting Yellowknife!
December 7, 2024
Cute cute cute - I adore these kinds of adventure-is-life stories of quirky people. And, fun to learn about Yellowknife.
April 15, 2016
Ramshackle is fun little travelogue about two young Quebeckers who decide to work up in Yellowknife after they graduate from post-secondary. They buy an old soccer mom van that takes them across the country, and the vehicle also ends up being their home for a bit! Readers are then treated to a view of Yellowknife from their perspective. Some of the issues the town faces are brought up, but really this is this duo's memory of their time adapting to and falling in love with the city. (The whole feel of the book reminds me of Portland)
McCreesh's art is quite lush, with detailed backgrounds and deep colours. She has a eye for capturing architectural details, and this is probably my favourite part of the book.
Though I would never want to repeat McCreesh's experiences (I like my stable, running water), it was a fascinating exploration of someone's life that was vastly different to mine, and an introduction to a city in my country that I know very little about (and have been researching post-reading this book!)
McCreesh's art is quite lush, with detailed backgrounds and deep colours. She has a eye for capturing architectural details, and this is probably my favourite part of the book.
Though I would never want to repeat McCreesh's experiences (I like my stable, running water), it was a fascinating exploration of someone's life that was vastly different to mine, and an introduction to a city in my country that I know very little about (and have been researching post-reading this book!)
August 11, 2016
I found this to be a really interesting, although short account of McCreesh's move to the North West Territories (or, rather, trip that became a permanent move). McCreesh's art looked hand drawn and coloured, (I'm assuming it was not done digitally) and created a really gorgeous look through out the book.
I found it to be really fun, and yet surprisingly educational about living in one of the larger communities in Canada's territories. This book is well worth the read if you're interested in Canada's north.
I found it to be really fun, and yet surprisingly educational about living in one of the larger communities in Canada's territories. This book is well worth the read if you're interested in Canada's north.
July 27, 2016
As much as I enjoyed reading about McCreesh's experiences in Whitehorse, I found myself drawn to the way she also explains the structures of the city - the difference between old town and the rest, the community that has grown in the Woodlot, and the finer points of the honeybucket (used in places where sewage pipes cannot be built) were fascinating.
McCreesh's watercolours are beautiful, and were it not for the mosquitoes, I'd be tempted to book a trip right now.
McCreesh's watercolours are beautiful, and were it not for the mosquitoes, I'd be tempted to book a trip right now.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews