From a gifted storyteller and one of Canada’s most respectedjournalists, The Long Stretch is a saga of love and war, the story ofthose who have "gone away" and those who are compelled to stay.In one apocalyptic night, John Gillis and his estranged cousinSextus confront a half century of half-truths and suppositions that have shapedand scarred their lives, their families and their insular Cape Breton community.Telling stories that unravel a host of secrets, they begin to realize that theywere damaged before they were born, their fathers and a close friend forming anunholy trilogy in a tragic moment of war. Among the roots of a complex andpainful relationship, they uncover the truth of a fateful day John has spent 20years trying to forget. Taut and brilliantly paced, etched with quiet humour and craftedwith fiery dialogue, The Long Stretch is a mesmerizing novel inthe tradition of Alistair MacLeod, David Adams Richards and Ann-Marie MacDonald.
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About the Author
LINDEN MACINTYRE is one of Canada’s most distinguishedbroadcast journalists. The winner of six Gemini awards, he is co-host of CBCTelevision’s the fifth estate and has been involved in the productionof documentaries and stories from all over the world. The Long Stretch wasshortlisted for the 2000 Dartmouth Book Award and the CBA Libris Award. Born inNewfoundland and raised in Cape Breton, Linden MacIntyre now lives in Toronto,where he is currently working on his memoir, Causeway.
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Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Timothy J. Bazzett
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
My education in Canadian literature continues apace with this, my third book by award-winning TV journalist and documentary film maker Linden MacIntyre. First I read his 2009 bestseller THE BISHOP'S MAN, then, CAUSEWAY, his memoir of growing up on Cape Breton before the Canso causeway "changed everything," and now his earlier bestselling novel, THE LONG STRETCH. Obviously I've read the three books in bass-ackwards order, but I don't think it matters, as they are all complete and absorbing books each in their own way. But, having read the memoir, I can see the autobiographical threads running through both novels, as MacIntyre's own father was a "hard rock miner," often away from home during Linden's boyhood.
Cousins Johnny and Sextus Gillis, characters who showed up in The Bishop's Man, take center stage here, as do their fathers and other folks from "the long stretch," an 'out back' remote area on the west end of Cape Breton Island. There is a dark violent secret dating back to the closing days of WWII in rural Holland that grimly ties the lives and misfortunes of Johnny's father, Sandy Gillis, and a neighbor, Angus MacAskill. And there is a scandalous rupture of a marriage that has Effie MacAskill (Johnny's wife) running off with Sextus, by then a successful writer and newspaperman who has 'escaped' to Toronto from the provincial village where they all grew up. Effie is - to try to show the ties here - Angus's daughter and sister to Duncan, who becomes a priest (and the central character in THE BISHOP'S MAN). I'm not going to give you a complete schematic of the cast of characters here, but take my word for it, they're all connected in some way.
MacIntyre employs an intriguing 'frame' device for telling the story of two generations here, with Sextus returning home from Toronto after both their fathers (and Angus too) are all dead, and spending a long binge-drinking afternoon and evening with cousin Johnny. Slowly the dark connections and sordid stories of the past forty years or so emerge as the two men work their way through drink after drink after drink, toying dangerously with a pistol and even coming to blows at one point as a Lear-like storm rages outside. Sextus is looking for something from Johnny, exactly what perhaps even he doesn't know, but he obviously harbors a long-time simmering resentment for the closeness Johhny enjoyed with Jack (Sextus's father). Yeah - it's that fathers and sons thing again, and that age-old difficulty between them, the seeming inability to connect, to simply let each other know they love each other. Ya know?
This is one hell of a book, and I mean that in the best possible way. MacIntyre has a way of getting at the truth of what really matters between people, and also of showing the difficulty of expressing it. Here's one way he explains it -
"The truth ... is real simple: Life is a sequence of mistakes and consequences and a process of getting smarter because of them. Most of them, anyway. The hard part is those rare, big ones. They're the ones that either destroy you or make you wiser."
Narrator Johnny Gillis was nearly destroyed, but not quite. He seems a little wiser at least, even if he hasn't quite figured it all out.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Perhaps one of the most
important 'characters' in this book - and also in the other two - is the rock hard and unforgiving landscape of Cape Breton. If you've never been there, you'll feel like you have been by the time you've read Linden MacIntyre's books. He has absorbed the 'feel' of the place he grew up and renders it like the talented artist he is.
These are not 'happily ever after' kinda books, but I love the way this guy writes. I hope there's another book coming soon. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
Cousins Johnny and Sextus Gillis, characters who showed up in The Bishop's Man, take center stage here, as do their fathers and other folks from "the long stretch," an 'out back' remote area on the west end of Cape Breton Island. There is a dark violent secret dating back to the closing days of WWII in rural Holland that grimly ties the lives and misfortunes of Johnny's father, Sandy Gillis, and a neighbor, Angus MacAskill. And there is a scandalous rupture of a marriage that has Effie MacAskill (Johnny's wife) running off with Sextus, by then a successful writer and newspaperman who has 'escaped' to Toronto from the provincial village where they all grew up. Effie is - to try to show the ties here - Angus's daughter and sister to Duncan, who becomes a priest (and the central character in THE BISHOP'S MAN). I'm not going to give you a complete schematic of the cast of characters here, but take my word for it, they're all connected in some way.
MacIntyre employs an intriguing 'frame' device for telling the story of two generations here, with Sextus returning home from Toronto after both their fathers (and Angus too) are all dead, and spending a long binge-drinking afternoon and evening with cousin Johnny. Slowly the dark connections and sordid stories of the past forty years or so emerge as the two men work their way through drink after drink after drink, toying dangerously with a pistol and even coming to blows at one point as a Lear-like storm rages outside. Sextus is looking for something from Johnny, exactly what perhaps even he doesn't know, but he obviously harbors a long-time simmering resentment for the closeness Johhny enjoyed with Jack (Sextus's father). Yeah - it's that fathers and sons thing again, and that age-old difficulty between them, the seeming inability to connect, to simply let each other know they love each other. Ya know?
This is one hell of a book, and I mean that in the best possible way. MacIntyre has a way of getting at the truth of what really matters between people, and also of showing the difficulty of expressing it. Here's one way he explains it -
"The truth ... is real simple: Life is a sequence of mistakes and consequences and a process of getting smarter because of them. Most of them, anyway. The hard part is those rare, big ones. They're the ones that either destroy you or make you wiser."
Narrator Johnny Gillis was nearly destroyed, but not quite. He seems a little wiser at least, even if he hasn't quite figured it all out.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Perhaps one of the most
important 'characters' in this book - and also in the other two - is the rock hard and unforgiving landscape of Cape Breton. If you've never been there, you'll feel like you have been by the time you've read Linden MacIntyre's books. He has absorbed the 'feel' of the place he grew up and renders it like the talented artist he is.
These are not 'happily ever after' kinda books, but I love the way this guy writes. I hope there's another book coming soon. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
By Toni Osborne
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Mr. MacIntyre is a Canadian journalist, broadcaster and novelist who has won numerous awards for his writing and journalistic excellence. '"The Long Stretch"', a fiction, written in 1999 is the first in his Cape Breton Trilogy.
The tale is a fine and haunting story told by an alcoholic who is occupying his time by digging into closely kept family secrets that have created many unsubstantiated rumours. The story centers on John and his first cousin, Sextus Gillis, who share the same family history and bear the burden of the same family secrets. 13 years after an estrangement they come together and in a drunken state they reminisce the past. Analysing flashback after flashback they gradually reveal the ghosts of the past to make sense of all the information and arrive at a conclusion they can live with. The encounter eventually clears the air between the two of them.
"'The Long Stretch'" brings everything alive in a story with a dialogue driven encounter. The prose conveys beautifully the language and landscape of Cape Breton, an island rich in history and mired with tradition where the Gaelic language and customs are kept alive in fawn respect of their heritage.
In Mr. Macintyre words it is evident he has a deep and loving passion for the people and the area.
The tale is a fine and haunting story told by an alcoholic who is occupying his time by digging into closely kept family secrets that have created many unsubstantiated rumours. The story centers on John and his first cousin, Sextus Gillis, who share the same family history and bear the burden of the same family secrets. 13 years after an estrangement they come together and in a drunken state they reminisce the past. Analysing flashback after flashback they gradually reveal the ghosts of the past to make sense of all the information and arrive at a conclusion they can live with. The encounter eventually clears the air between the two of them.
"'The Long Stretch'" brings everything alive in a story with a dialogue driven encounter. The prose conveys beautifully the language and landscape of Cape Breton, an island rich in history and mired with tradition where the Gaelic language and customs are kept alive in fawn respect of their heritage.
In Mr. Macintyre words it is evident he has a deep and loving passion for the people and the area.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Getting at the truth - a Cape Breton tour de force
Dec 10 2010
By Timothy J. Bazzett
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
My education in Canadian literature continues apace with this, my third book by award-winning TV journalist and documentary film maker Linden MacIntyre. First I read his 2009 bestseller THE BISHOP'S MAN, then, CAUSEWAY, his memoir of growing up on Cape Breton before the Canso causeway "changed everything," and now his earlier bestselling novel, THE LONG STRETCH. Obviously I've read the three books in bass-ackwards order, but I don't think it matters, as they are all complete and absorbing books each in their own way. But, having read the memoir, I can see the autobiographical threads running through both novels, as MacIntyre's own father was a "hard rock miner," often away from home during Linden's boyhood.
Cousins Johnny and Sextus Gillis, characters who showed up in The Bishop's Man, take center stage here, as do their fathers and other folks from "the long stretch," an 'out back' remote area on the west end of Cape Breton Island. There is a dark violent secret dating back to the closing days of WWII in rural Holland that grimly ties the lives and misfortunes of Johnny's father, Sandy Gillis, and a neighbor, Angus MacAskill. And there is a scandalous rupture of a marriage that has Effie MacAskill (Johnny's wife) running off with Sextus, by then a successful writer and newspaperman who has 'escaped' to Toronto from the provincial village where they all grew up. Effie is - to try to show the ties here - Angus's daughter and sister to Duncan, who becomes a priest (and the central character in THE BISHOP'S MAN). I'm not going to give you a complete schematic of the cast of characters here, but take my word for it, they're all connected in some way.
MacIntyre employs an intriguing 'frame' device for telling the story of two generations here, with Sextus returning home from Toronto after both their fathers (and Angus too) are all dead, and spending a long binge-drinking afternoon and evening with cousin Johnny. Slowly the dark connections and sordid stories of the past forty years or so emerge as the two men work their way through drink after drink after drink, toying dangerously with a pistol and even coming to blows at one point as a Lear-like storm rages outside. Sextus is looking for something from Johnny, exactly what perhaps even he doesn't know, but he obviously harbors a long-time simmering resentment for the closeness Johhny enjoyed with Jack (Sextus's father). Yeah - it's that fathers and sons thing again, and that age-old difficulty between them, the seeming inability to connect, to simply let each other know they love each other. Ya know?
This is one hell of a book, and I mean that in the best possible way. MacIntyre has a way of getting at the truth of what really matters between people, and also of showing the difficulty of expressing it. Here's one way he explains it -
"The truth ... is real simple: Life is a sequence of mistakes and consequences and a process of getting smarter because of them. Most of them, anyway. The hard part is those rare, big ones. They're the ones that either destroy you or make you wiser."
Narrator Johnny Gillis was nearly destroyed, but not quite. He seems a little wiser at least, even if he hasn't quite figured it all out.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Perhaps one of the most
important 'characters' in this book - and also in the other two - is the rock hard and unforgiving landscape of Cape Breton. If you've never been there, you'll feel like you have been by the time you've read Linden MacIntyre's books. He has absorbed the 'feel' of the place he grew up and renders it like the talented artist he is.
These are not 'happily ever after' kinda books, but I love the way this guy writes. I hope there's another book coming soon. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
Cousins Johnny and Sextus Gillis, characters who showed up in The Bishop's Man, take center stage here, as do their fathers and other folks from "the long stretch," an 'out back' remote area on the west end of Cape Breton Island. There is a dark violent secret dating back to the closing days of WWII in rural Holland that grimly ties the lives and misfortunes of Johnny's father, Sandy Gillis, and a neighbor, Angus MacAskill. And there is a scandalous rupture of a marriage that has Effie MacAskill (Johnny's wife) running off with Sextus, by then a successful writer and newspaperman who has 'escaped' to Toronto from the provincial village where they all grew up. Effie is - to try to show the ties here - Angus's daughter and sister to Duncan, who becomes a priest (and the central character in THE BISHOP'S MAN). I'm not going to give you a complete schematic of the cast of characters here, but take my word for it, they're all connected in some way.
MacIntyre employs an intriguing 'frame' device for telling the story of two generations here, with Sextus returning home from Toronto after both their fathers (and Angus too) are all dead, and spending a long binge-drinking afternoon and evening with cousin Johnny. Slowly the dark connections and sordid stories of the past forty years or so emerge as the two men work their way through drink after drink after drink, toying dangerously with a pistol and even coming to blows at one point as a Lear-like storm rages outside. Sextus is looking for something from Johnny, exactly what perhaps even he doesn't know, but he obviously harbors a long-time simmering resentment for the closeness Johhny enjoyed with Jack (Sextus's father). Yeah - it's that fathers and sons thing again, and that age-old difficulty between them, the seeming inability to connect, to simply let each other know they love each other. Ya know?
This is one hell of a book, and I mean that in the best possible way. MacIntyre has a way of getting at the truth of what really matters between people, and also of showing the difficulty of expressing it. Here's one way he explains it -
"The truth ... is real simple: Life is a sequence of mistakes and consequences and a process of getting smarter because of them. Most of them, anyway. The hard part is those rare, big ones. They're the ones that either destroy you or make you wiser."
Narrator Johnny Gillis was nearly destroyed, but not quite. He seems a little wiser at least, even if he hasn't quite figured it all out.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Perhaps one of the most
important 'characters' in this book - and also in the other two - is the rock hard and unforgiving landscape of Cape Breton. If you've never been there, you'll feel like you have been by the time you've read Linden MacIntyre's books. He has absorbed the 'feel' of the place he grew up and renders it like the talented artist he is.
These are not 'happily ever after' kinda books, but I love the way this guy writes. I hope there's another book coming soon. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Dialogue Driven Encounter
July 23 2012
By Toni Osborne
- Published on Amazon.com
Mr. MacIntyre is a Canadian journalist, broadcaster and novelist who has won numerous awards for his writing and journalistic excellence. "The Long Stretch", a fiction, written in 1999 is the first in his Cape Breton Trilogy.
The tale is a fine and haunting story told by an alcoholic who is occupying his time by digging into closely kept family secrets that have created many unsubstantiated rumours. The story centers on John and his first cousin, Sextus Gillis, who share the same family history and bear the burden of the same family secrets. 13 years after an estrangement they come together and in a drunken state they reminisce the past. Analysing flashback after flashback they gradually reveal the ghosts of the past to make sense of all the information and arrive at a conclusion they can live with. The encounter eventually clears the air between the two of them.
"The Long Stretch" brings everything alive in a story with a dialogue driven encounter. The prose conveys beautifully the language and landscape of Cape Breton, an island rich in history and mired with tradition where the Gaelic language and customs are kept alive in fawn respect of their heritage.
In Mr. Macintyre words it is evident he has a deep and loving passion for the people and the area.
The tale is a fine and haunting story told by an alcoholic who is occupying his time by digging into closely kept family secrets that have created many unsubstantiated rumours. The story centers on John and his first cousin, Sextus Gillis, who share the same family history and bear the burden of the same family secrets. 13 years after an estrangement they come together and in a drunken state they reminisce the past. Analysing flashback after flashback they gradually reveal the ghosts of the past to make sense of all the information and arrive at a conclusion they can live with. The encounter eventually clears the air between the two of them.
"The Long Stretch" brings everything alive in a story with a dialogue driven encounter. The prose conveys beautifully the language and landscape of Cape Breton, an island rich in history and mired with tradition where the Gaelic language and customs are kept alive in fawn respect of their heritage.
In Mr. Macintyre words it is evident he has a deep and loving passion for the people and the area.
3.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting read
Oct 24 2012
By STEFFI
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I purchased this book based on having first read MacIntyre's "The Bishop's Man". While there is not as much "story" involved in this book, it still paints a realistic picture of Cape Breton and a believable portrait of folk who live in the area where MacIntyre was raised. The subject matter is thought-provoking and flows well.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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