No Great Mischief | 
Here's pic 2/3 of my epic used book sale haul. Mostly lit fic and canlit. I'm excited for all of it tbh but especially the Helen Humphreys.
And yes, this does totally blow my tbr reduction goals out of the water but who cares. #noregrets
#bookhaul
pickWhat a lovely, but quiet and melancholy book. Alexander, a successful middle aged orthodontist is visiting his much older brother in Toronto. His brother appears to be a nearly homeless drunk, shaking with addiction. But as Alex attends to him they reminisce and you discover their shared history and their differences. They come from Clan McDonald, highlanders that emigrated to Cape Breton in the 19th century ⬇️
Next up...No Great Mischief ❤️💜💙
pickBelonging. Isolation. Immigration. Tragedy. Joy.
This book has a unique structure that travels back & forth in time, following the MacDonald family from 18th century Scotland to late 20th century Canada. At first I struggled to follow the story line but all soon became clear.
The language is exquisite. At times it shocked me with its beauty, its sadness & its joy. It spoke of a people & a land who “care too much and try too hard”.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“You are from here,” said the woman.
“No,” said my sister, “I‘m from Canada.”
“That may be,” said the woman. “But you are really from here. You have just been away for awhile.”
This was on my shelf, forgotten. Set in Cape Breton, I loved this book so much I cannot for the life of me understand why I have never sought out more books by Macleod. Must rectify that. #homebythesea #rockinmay
pickI spent most of today reading. I haven't done that in a long time, but other than taking The Ace Of Hearts for a long walk, I've been mostly reading, trying to shake off a case of the sniffles. This is a quiet book but emotion-wrenching. My BF's ex-mother-In-law loaned it to me, knowing my family was from down East. It makes me want to read more Alistair Macleod.
"As long as I have something to hang on to," he says, swaying back and forth, "I am okay."
pickAn excellent book tracing the story of Alexander Macdonald and his family, part of the clann Chaluim Ruaidh (family of red-haired Calum). Great for those who like stories set in Cape Breton.
Another passage that hit me harder on this second reading.
And now I need to read Margaret Laurence. Also, how lovely it would be to dream in Gaelic.
This chapter, about Alexander's grandparents, hit me harder on this reading.
'He was ... crying for his history. He had left his country and lost his wife and spoke a foreign language. He had left as a husband and arrived as a widower and a grandfather ... He was ... Like the goose who points the V, and he temporarily wavered and lost his courage.'
