Customer Reviews

No Great Mischief

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Macleod's No Great Mischief, like Margaret Laurence's Bird In The House, is an essay disguised as a beautifully written story. Unlike Laurence's exposition on freedom, Macleod's novel revolves around loyalty. I love books like this. Once you unravel the philosophy of the author (or maybe just the narrator) the essay is a piece of art. Imagine reading someone's thesis that simply weighed the pros and cons of familial and cultural loyalty in point form. Needless to say it wouldn't be the most exciting read. That's not to say that anyone will be blown away by the action in this novel either. But the poetic language in this book, with such a bombardment of sybmolism and settings described better than in paintings, would be absent from the drier point-form essay.

I was also amazed at how Canadian this book is. It is perhaps the most Canadian book I have ever read. And if anyone thinks it only relates to Cape Breton, they've surely missed the point. Canada is a multicultural country, not a melting pot and that is just the sort of loyalty Macleod examines, not just in the Cape Breton clan, but also in the French, the Newfoundlanders, the Jamaicans and the others which get varying degrees of mention. And while the setting mostly fluctuates between Nova Scotia and Ontario, British Columbia, the Yukon and a few other Canadian places pop up as well.

At times, like in other Macleod works, this book can become a downer. Pervasive in everything he writes is the loss theme; loss of culture, loss of life, etc. So don't read this book if you're looking for a light fluffy book, but if you're in the mood for a thinker, give it a try.

It is hard to find the words to describe the beauty of Alistair MacLeods novel "No Great Mischief". It is truly, storytelling at its best. As you read, it is like you are listening. The trials, tribulations, loss, spirituality and love that the narrator experiences throughout his life are rich and poignant. So many times I had to put the book down because I was so emotional about the story. His descriptions of his grandparents, sister, brothers and their natures and personalities were tremendous. Although I am not from Cape Breton Island, I am Canadian and of Scottish descent and I felt that the commonalities between the narrator's family life and my own were uncanny. Alistair MacLeod is in my opinion the greatest writer of our time.

If anyone should doubt the book critics' relevance in guiding readers' choices, look no further than Alistair MacLeod's "No Great Mischief (NGM)". If not for its constant appearance on their notable reads list, the publication of NGM would likely have gone unnoticed because it's a low key unshowy kind of book that's unlikely to attract attention. But thanks to them, I have discovered a gem about one's family, clan, and roots. Quiet, reflective, and lovingly narrated by a modern day MacDonald in Ontario, the story traces the history of the MacDonalds back to the 17th Century when its first immigrant parent arrived from Scotland to settle in Canada, desperate and poor. The author takes certain liberties with chronology - eg, toggling between scenes of the narrator as a successful dentist and a coal miner working alongside his older brothers can be a challenge - but it's consistent with the story's dreamlike quality. Recurring images or memories unfold like a chorus that locks you into the rhythmn of the song. There are many scenes that are simply unforgettable and will remain firmly etched in your mind, like that of the dead immigrant's wife being offloaded into the sea, the family dog swimming against the tide into the arms of its owner, the tragic ice accident that claimed his parents' lives, his brothers melting ice from buckets to make their morning coffee, the horrific decapitation of a MacDonald in the mines, etc. These floating images, coupled with the impression that the MacDonalds have multiplied like rabbits and all but conquered Ontario, only serves to reinforce the novel's theme of blood and kinship. If only MacLeod had been less presumptuous about his reader's knowledge of Canadian Confederation history and its Scottish anticedent, the references to how key characters fought for opposite sides at different points would have made more sense. Despite these slight misgivings, I enjoyed NGM tremendously. MacLeod's prose has a beautifully understated and intimate cadence to it that suggests an assuredness absent from much of what passes today as good contemporary writing. NGM won't change your life but it'll add to it. Highly recommended.

Although this book is about a Cape Breton family with celtic roots, this story is universal and anyone living anywhere could relate to the message that blood IS thicker than water, what that means and why. It begins with a much younger successful brother visiting his older alcoholic brother in a downtown Toronto flop house. We discover that he does this once a month, faithfully brings a bottle to him, and spends some uncomfortable time with him. Why? Where does this sense of loyalty, obligation and duty originate? As the book unfolds and the clock goes backwards, it's clear that Alexander would not be who is he is today without the love and sacrifice of Calem. It's also clear that Calem was not always the down on his luck addict that you see today...there are events and emotions that led him to take this fork in the road. Every addict that you encounter has a story and the obvious addiction is only one part of who that person really is. This book traces just one of those many stories. I too have witnessed the same conflicts between the men in my own family...my generation and the previous one. This book was also turned into a stage production and that was very good as well. Cried reading the book, cried during the play...even cried when the horse died. So it's a tear jerker but one fantastic "car ride"...just remember to take the Kleenex on this road trip!

I too once tied a wire around a rotten tooth tied it to my horse
and slapped the horse on the butt. And then I woke up screaming.
Tough, real, sad, triumphant... This book was fantastic.

This book captures you from the first page and through the eyes and feelings of the characters you become part of the family that this story describes. The sequence of events, the details and the family bonds allow you to live the storey and enjoy the joyride of emotions of sadness, happiness, failure and success.
Above all, it demonstrates how nothing in life is achieved without sacrifice and committment by yourself, family and friends. An excellent read, deep and intellectually stimulating.

Alistair MacLeod has created an incredibly well written novel, and an all out love letter to Cape Breton. Told first person, the book is like sitting down with a grandparent as they recount your family's colorful past. Moody and evocative it's the kind of book to curl up with in front of a fire and let it wash over you.Fans of the book "Cold Mountain" would probably enjoy this as well since it adopts the same steady slow moving pace, while reaching depths of emotion through memory. I only wished I knew the areas of Nova Scotia he was talking about, because that would of made it an even richer reading experience.

There comes a time in a reader's life when ironic detachment, postmodern artifice and stylistic razzle-dazzle seem stale and hollow; when only honest, straightforward storytelling will do.
This novel tells of generations of MacDonalds descended from Chalum Ruaidh, who left Scotland in 1779 after the disastrous Battle of Culloden, where Bonnie Prince Charlie, the last Stuart Pretender, was routed by the English. Settling on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, the highlanders wrested a living from the harsh and beautiful land as farmers, fishermen, miners, or lumbermen. Their indomitable spirit, their fierce loyalty to home and family (including their animals) pulled them through.

A streak of loss and betrayal runs through the history of the clan. The title of the novel refers to a remark made by the British General Wolfe, under whose command they fought the French at Quebec: that it would be "no great mischief" if the highlanders were killed in battle - because he secretly loathed them while making use of their bravery and often foolhardy courage.

How memory becomes myth and takes root in people's lives; how hard it is for younger generations to extricate themselves from this network of tradition and establish an identity of their own: these are the elements of a novel that will engage your imagination and touch your heart.

I just want to clarify a point about No Great Mischief. I am from Cape Breton where the story takes place.
The story may be about the MacDonald clan but it is not exclusive to them. MacLeod tries to emphasize the importance of ancestry especially in the Scottish-Cape Bretoner context. In particular, he advocates the importance of "the land" to Scottish settlers. In highland-Scottish history this element has always been important. I think he points out his contempt for greed but does so to despite a way of life for the MacDonalds and other clans. If you interpret the book as a story about "them" then you will lose the meaning of the entire book; that history is a coming home, epitomized at the end of the book. . .

This book is one of the most beautifully crafted, coherent and moving books I have read in a long time. What he says in one line would take a lesser author twenty. He evokes the kinship of brothers, the importance of history , the impact of chance and the integrity of nature.

His characters ring true and speak in voices you can hear across the table in a Cape Breton kitchen. It would be so easy for a book like this to fall into the toe-tapping, beer swigging , Gaelic caricatures so often served up. It weaves love and tradgedy with humour and grace.

I sat in the hammock at morning chorus with the book and didn't leave until it was finished. Please don't take 10 years to write your next one Alistair.