ALAN McGUIRE welcomes a biography of the French semiologist and philosopher

Ducks — Two Years in the Oil Sands
by Kate Beaton
Jonathon Cape £25
KATE BEATON is a Canadian writer and cartoonist. The book, Ducks — Two Years in the Oil Sands, is her first full-length graphic narrative, a memoir dramatically played out in cartoon format.
Beaton comes from Cape Breton on Canada’s East Coast, an area where the major industries, oil and fishing, went into sharp decline and as a consequence, local people had to seek employment elsewhere.

SYLVIA HIKINS relishes a comedy that dives deep into Liverpool’s divided loyalties

SYLVIA HIKINS recommends a sweeping survey of the world's biggest desert and the people who live there

SYLVIA HIKINS casts an eye across the contemporary art brought to a city founded on colonialism and empire

SYLVIA HIKINS is bowled over by a wonderful show that both entertains and educates