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No Great Mischief
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
Alexander MacDonald guides us through his familys mythic past as he recollects the heroic stories of his people: loggers, miners, drinkers, adventurers; men forever in exile, forever linked to their clan. There is the legendary patriarch who left the Scottish Highlands in 1779 and resettled in the land of trees, where his descendents became a separate Nova Scotia clan. There is the team of brothers and cousins, expert miners in demand around the world for their dangerous skills. And there is Alexander and his twin sister, who have left Cape Breton and prospered, yet are haunted by the past. Elegiac, hypnotic, by turns joyful and sad, No Great Mischief is a spellbinding story of family, loyalty, exile, and of the blood ties that bind us, generations later, to the land from which our ancestors came.
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review
Centique
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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Pickpick

What 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 ⬇️

Centique but kept their Gaelic language and highland history strong within them. There are some beautiful thoughts here but it is very contemplative rather than plot driven so you need to be in the right mood. So interesting to me as my husbands family originally came from Nova Scotia. I must find out if they have highland roots. 3y
Centique Photo is from the wild west coast of the South Island - Te Wai Pounamu - where we are visiting on holiday. Pretty isolated and it‘s gorgeous to explore. (Town has 565 residents) 3y
Centique @LeahBergen I think this is a kind of modern Canadian classic Leah? 3y
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BarbaraBB Gorgeous pic 😍 3y
squirrelbrain Lovely photo! 3y
LeahBergen Yes, it is! How cool that your husband‘s family is from Nova Scotia. It‘s a beautiful place (especially Cape Breton)! And I love this photo. 😊 3y
andrew61 Lovely photo Paula. 3y
batsy Beautiful 😍 3y
Centique @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @batsy thank you! This trip to the South Island was postponed from last year when we had lockdown so we feel very lucky to finally get here. 3y
Centique @LeahBergen it‘s quite a few generations ago but there‘s a little town up north which all the McLeods etc that came from Nova Scotia built. One day we‘ll get to visit that part of Canada ourselves (handy that it‘s next to Anne‘s island for me too!) 3y
Centique @andrew61 I think you might like this book Andrew. It has this lovely look at brotherhood through tragedy, an unusual thing for it‘s time to celebrate the softness and kindness between “tough” masculine men. 3y
CoverToCoverGirl My husband‘s family were McLeods. They came over on the ship Hector, by was of Nova Scotia around 1750ish. 3y
Reggie What a lovely pic and great review. How nice that you all are on holiday. Hope ya‘ll have a blast. 3y
Centique @CoverToCoverGirl our husbands may be distant relations! I‘ll have to ask the mother in law if her ancestry knowledge goes back that far to know what ship they emigrated to Canada in. Ancestry is a lot of fun sometimes ☺️ 3y
Centique @Reggie thank you Reggie. I just watched your bite sized book chat last night. You are so cool and passionate about the book and so well spoken! And when you read that excerpt I just about cried! I had to show my hub and Lucy “Look it‘s my friend Reggie on YouTube!”” I was so excited to see you “live” for the first time. 💕 3y
Reggie ❤️❤️❤️Thanks, Paula!!! I still think about that book. We were playing cards at Christmas and I laughed when I saw my brother had that same crease on his forehead that shows when we furrow our brows. 3y
CoverToCoverGirl @Centique I‘m an amateur genealogist. And I find it fascinating. 3y
CoverToCoverGirl @Reggie hey I‘m curious, are you okay with sending me a link? 🙂 3y
Centique @CoverToCoverGirl we‘re talking about Shawn the Book Maniacs channel that Reggie appeared on here https://youtu.be/NFHAU18MK7o 3y
merelybookish I love Alistair MacLeod. He kind of blew my mind when I first read him in university. Highly recommend his short stories! And do come to Nova Scotia. I'm in New Brunswick which is just next door. 😀 3y
Centique @merelybookish I‘m stacking that one! Thanks for the recc, I was so impressed with his writing and the depth of feeling in this book. I so hope to get to your part of the world, it‘s so beautiful 😍 3y
shawnmooney I came across this review and all the warm and friendly comments a few days late but wow! I didn‘t get along so well with a short collection of MacLeod‘s short stories I tried, but I am very interested in this novel! And I have a lovely memory of a warm and friendly conversation I had with Alistair MacLeod at a bookish conference (AWP) in Vancouver 15 or so years ago. 🥰 3y
shawnmooney Paula, speaking of Bite-sized Book Chats (wasn‘t @reggie great?), how about chatting about this one for your second appearance? 3y
Centique @shawnmooney hi Shawn 👋 that sounds lovely! I will just need to get a copy of it from the library again and do a memory refresh. I‘ll send you an email when I have it. Hope you‘re doing well! 3y
Rissreads @Reggie Omg I did not know about this channel. I‘ve just watched you talk and oh my it‘s lovely to see your face and hear your voice! You are so passionate about what you read. I‘m blessed to have met you on Litsy, you make our world a wonderful place! 😘 what episode are you on Paula so I can watch you too! (edited) 3y
Centique @Rissreads hi Nerissa! I am on the 14th episode https://youtu.be/PadbFMEPXAQ and so is @merelybookish ! And then @trishb is on the 17th episode 😍😍😍 3y
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blurb
Cathythoughts
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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Next up...No Great Mischief ❤️💜💙

LeahBergen This is a good one! 👍🏻 6y
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen good the hear 👍🏻♥️ 6y
55 likes2 comments
review
Libby1
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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Pickpick

Belonging. 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”.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

rabbitprincess I love love love this book and am so glad you did too. ❤️ 7y
LeahBergen ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
Libby1 @rabbitprincess - I think I‘ll actually read it again some day. That means a lot. I‘m so glad you loved it. I‘ve not read much Canadian fiction. Yet! 7y
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Libby1 @LeahBergen ❤️❤️❤️ right back atcha. 7y
Cathythoughts This sounds very special. I‘m stacking ❤️ 7y
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quote
Libby1
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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“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.”

LeahBergen I loved this book. ❤️ 7y
merelybookish @LeahBergen Me too! MacLeod's writing is so good! 7y
Libby1 @LeahBergen and @merelybookish - finding this book was pure serendipity. I saw it in a charity shop and the title intrigued me. I knew nothing about this author or the subject matter. I loved it. I could have shared quote after quote. The writing is so beautiful. 7y
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Blaire @LeahBergen @merelybookish @Libby1 well, I am convinced. Stacked. 7y
Libby1 @Blaire - it‘s really different and at first I thought the movement through time wasn‘t working for me. Then it all fell into place beautifully. I hope you‘ll enjoy it! 7y
merelybookish @Libby1 MacLeod died a few years ago and was not a prolific writer. He has a few short story collections as well that are more regional in setting/content but the writing is still gorgeous. 7y
Christine Pretty nail color! :) 7y
Libby1 Thanks, @Christine 😃 7y
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blurb
Jas16
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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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

Cinfhen It does sound promising ~ all those new authors and titles today 💕 8y
merelybookish MacLeod is one of my favorites! 8y
JazzFeathers Haunting cover 💙 8y
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review
Tanner
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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Pickpick

I 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.

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Tanner
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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"As long as I have something to hang on to," he says, swaying back and forth, "I am okay."

review
rabbitprincess
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
Pickpick

An 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.

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rabbitprincess
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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Another passage that hit me harder on this second reading.

blurb
rabbitprincess
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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And now I need to read Margaret Laurence. Also, how lovely it would be to dream in Gaelic.

shawnmooney I read one or two of her novels when I was a teenager. I really want to read her again! 8y
rabbitprincess @shawnmooney Which ones have you read? I have The Stone Angel on my to-read pile. 8y
shawnmooney The Stone Angel is the novel I've read as well, but I was a teenager and expect I'd get a lot more out of it now. And I studied a collection of her short stories in university, A Bird In The House. 8y
7 likes3 comments
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rabbitprincess
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod
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This chapter, about Alexander's grandparents, hit me harder on this reading.

shawnmooney Never read him. Have autographed copies of his books stashed away back in Canada. Met him at a literary festival years ago. He was so friendly to me I thought he had the mistaken impression that I was staff. But he was just being his usual, gregarious self! 8y
LeahBergen Such a good book! 8y
rabbitprincess @shawnmooney Wow, you met him! That is awesome! And signed copies too. 😀 I haven't read his short stories yet but love this novel. 8y
rabbitprincess @LeahBergen It's one of my favourites! 😄 8y
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quote
Ousia101
No Great Mischief | Alistair MacLeod

'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.'

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