Alistair McLeod's first novel has catapulted a little-known
'writer's writer', acclaimed for two volumes of short stories, to
the top of Canada's bestseller lists, and deservedly so. No Great
Mischief reveals McLeod as a major talent, a superb story teller,
effortlessly catching the reader's attention, and keeping it with
an unusual mix of lyricism and realism. It is narrated by
Alexander, a member of the MacDonald clan in the Scots Gaelic of
Cape Breton that they still speak. It opens as Alexander, known in
his childhood as gille beag ruadh - 'the little red-haired boy' -
but now a successful, middle-aged orthodontist, visits a hopeless
alcoholic in a seedy rooming house in Toronto - his eldest brother,
Calum. Gradually the story of gille beag ruadh, his twin sister,
and his three elder brothers, is revealed. The twins were orphaned
at the age of three when their parents drowned in icy waters. They
are raised by their kindly grandparents, while their older, teenage
brothers run wild in the family home. Eventually the brothers
establish themselves as miners, and an accident in the family
causes Alexander to leave medical school and join them in the mine.
This strong family loyalty is explored through dramatic fragments
of the history of the MacDonald clan, who are descended from one
Calum Ruadh. Calum arrived in Cape Breton in 1779 from the
Highlands of Scotland with his large family and the loyal family
dog. The clan's story is full of pathos and poetry, and also has
richly humorous moments. At intervals, Alexander joins his sister,
a prosperous oilman's wife in Calgary, and together they reflect on
how the family's history intersects with mainstream history:
Culloden, where many MacDonalds died, and the 1759 battle at
Quebec, won by General Wolfe, with the help of the Highlanders,
whom he recommended as soldiers because it was 'no great mischief
if they fall'. This is the story of a family, a hero - big brother
Calum - and of a nation - Canada - the result of the integration of
numerous minorities such as the clann Chalum Ruaidh, some of whom
feature in the novel. It is a major imaginative achievement.
(Kirkus UK)
In 1779, driven out of his home, Calum MacDonald sets sail from the Scottish Highlands with his extensive family. After a long, terrible journey he settles his family in 'the land of trees' until they become a separate Nova Scotian clan: red-haired and black-eyed, with its own identify, its own history.It is the 1980s by the time our narrator, Alexander MacDonald, tells the story of his family, a thrilling and passionate story that intersects with history: with Culloden, where the clans died, and with the 1759 battle at Quebec that was won when General Wolfe sent in the fierce Highlanders because it was 'no great mischief if they fall'.
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