Customer Reviews

No Great Mischief: A Novel

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was suspicious when I read the early acclaim for this novel, but just having finished reading it myself, I have to agree that this is a masterpiece and will be one of the novels that people will remember for a very long time. The quality of prose is so intelligent in this work, the story is so moving and encompasses so many different experiences in such an imaginative manner. The book is incredibly life- affirming and it not only speaks to the experience of one community of people as Steinbeck's great novel did decades ago, it also speaks to the entire experience of being an immigrant in the New World. I can't wait to read this book again. It's magnificent.

When more familiar sounds are heard, the above becomes, "Look, the lamp of the poor." The lamp is the moon and the reference encompasses what those may do when the moon is bright that otherwise would require the means they do not have.

This is a beautifully written story of the MacDonald Clan that spans nearly three centuries in length. How Mr. Alistair Macleod conveys this epoch of this Family in such a relatively short work (283 pages) is enigmatic. The Author accomplishes this in part I believe by using not only the words he needs, but the most appropriate as well. The reading is so rewarding because the Author gives you so much to absorb, to ponder, and at times to puzzle over.

Prior to this work Mr. Macleod published two books of short stories that I have not read. Another Author stated, "He is one of the great undiscovered writers of our time." A heady endorsement, but one I cannot argue with. Other reviewers have made reference to some literary talents whose work has become timeless and by extension classic. I agree without reservation.

This book joins some others that never seem to receive the public acclaim they are due. I thought of "The Banyan Tree", and "Life Is So Good", and also "No News At Throat Lake". It may be that these books don't have a publicity machine behind them, and if that is the case it truly is a loss to readers.

One of the wise Elders in the story says." Music is the lubricant of the poor. All over the world. In all the different languages." Books like these and the people who write them provide the same comfort, encouragement, and incentive for readers to go on reading when there seems to be less books of this caliber offered.

False muses, the French Ships that never came, and the body that moves inland while the heart was left at the sea. This is a book that will move and satisfy, and keep looking for the next great Author you have yet to find.

Absolutely outstanding! Read it!

Stellar writing by one of North America's greatest living writers, this novel is loaded with the same kind of emotional authenticity, lush language and courage as ANGELA'S ASHES. MacLeod brings the mythic, the historical and contemporary experience together in a way that is magical, poetic and yet unpretentious. MacLeod is also a wonderful antidote to the American writers who, I'm told, describe my experience. MacLeod is not Joyce Carrol Oates or E.L. Doctorow, thank God.

The title of this novel comes from a letter written by General Wolfe to Captain Rickson before the taking of Quebec. Wolfe was highly suspicious of his Highlander troops, due to the fact that he had previously fought and overwhelmed them on the battlefield of Culloden. Yet the fact that the Scots were old enemies ironically helped in the seizure of Quebec. One of the Highlanders, MacDonald, had been exiled in France before being pardoned by the British, and it was his knowledge of French that got them past the Quebec sentries. Such is the tale spun by the narrator's Grandfather.

I suppose you could expect a wee bit of bias in a novel that is related by one of the MacDonalds of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, but I'm more than willing to give Alistair MacLeod's account the benefit of the doubt. According to the dust jacket, MacLeod was raised in Cape Breton, so he certainly has first hand knowledge of the locale. I've been so enthralled by this novel, that I've looked a great deal into its historical background. Obviously, Macleod has had to change some names. Renco Development is a fictional company, but uranium mining did indeed flourish as an industry in Elliot Lake ("The Elliot Lake story is a moral and human outrage" wrote Stephen Lewis in his report to the Ham Commission). From a modern day perspective, uranium mining would seem to have obvious health risks, but MacLeod tends to concentrate more on the dangers inherent in such manual labour and the disputes of workers from different ethnic backgrounds. MacLeod does not insult your intelligence by covering such truisms; instead, he reveals new material from old history.

My favourite character from the novel is Grandfather. It's from him that most of the family history is researched and passed on. A lonely widower who never knew his father, he seems compelled to fill up the gaps in his life. When he passes away, one of the regrets of the Cape Breton MacDonalds is that that they did not write down all of the songs that he kept in his head. I've never read a story that so authentically captures oral culture. There are lots of repetitions, which are just as familiar and comforting as a chorus, mantras by which the Macdonalds live their lives. Very resounding is the tales of the generations of the dogs "who tried too hard". The Macdonalds keep the same family of dogs throughout the centuries - or rather, the dogs keep the Macdonalds.

The recorded history of the MacDonalds is also very strong. Calum Ruadh left Moidart for Nova Scotia in 1779, a sign of defeat if ever there was one, since Moidart was the landing place of the Bonnie Prince in '45. It was a MacDonald who was made an example of in the Glencoe massacre, betrayed by the British soldiers who were supposedly his guests. What goes around comes around, would seem to be the nature of the history in this novel. More than one army has reason to lament the non-arrival of the ships from France, as MacLeod relates. "My hope is constant in thee" was what the Bruce told the MacDonalds at Bannockburn. However, it is the MacDonalds of Cape Breton that we take to our hearts in this novel.

General Wolfe may not have grieved the Highlanders if they had fallen at Quebec (where he got his own comeuppance and finally achieved his long-cherished fame without realising it), but their relatives would have done. It is the twentieth century MacDonalds who do most of the living and dying in 'No Great Mischief'. Although the Nova Scotia land is rich, it is also hazardous, even for the experienced. The narrator, Alexander MacDonald, becomes an orphan as a result of one such tragedy. This novel encompasses the changes wrought by the twentieth century. The divisions between rich and poor are most marked here, if only because some members of the MacDonald family become more prosperous than even, say, their siblings. But the family link is far stronger than the family divide.

The most compelling character in the novel is Calum, Alexander's brother. For him, his namesake Calum Ruadh's journey to the New World resounds with his own story. The attractions of this novel are many. Anyone from the Celtic diaspora will be able to recognise the characters in 'No Great Mischief'. I particularly identified with the MacDonald trait of bearing fraternal twins, as that is a habit of my family also. The roots of my family seem lost within the mists of time; with official documents seemingly contradicting remembered history. 'No Great Mischief' gives me a powerful insight into how my ancestors may have lived, of the culture that they shared. It is exquisitely written by a master storyteller. You'll never forget this great book once you've read it. There are scenes that resolutely stick in your mind, like Alexander's encounter with the whale. The MacDonalds still flourish in Cape Breton to this day, and I think it's the fact that MacLeod is a native that adds greatly to the feeling of authenticity in this moving novel.

I read a great deal...between a half dozen to a dozen books a month. There are books that leave one feeling dissappointed. There are books that leave one breathless. And then there are those books, like No Great Mischief, that leaves one feeling as though they will never find another book wonderful enough to surpass the experience they just went through.

No Great Mischief is a family saga with a great deal of history - I even took the liberty of checking a few of the facts out and he is dead-on. The story is touching, the characters are wonderfully developed and the imagery the author conveys is haunting. You won't be dissappointed.

This book is a remarkable achievement in that it manages to squeeze a 300 year family saga into less than 300 pages. For all that nothing is lost. The sense of period is retained throughout and at all times a cracking pace is maintained. The MacClouds have played a strong (and mixed) role in cottish history and that feeling of destiny is strongly conveyed in the book.

People come first in this story and the sparse writing style suits this tale very well. The most vivid scenes are created with an admirable brevity.

Coming, myself, from the English branch of an Irish family with strong links to Montana and Australia, I stongly empathised with the sentiments of the story (though our family history is much less dramatic). Links back to the 'homeland' remain even if they are buried for years by the distractions of the modern world.

Aspiring authors would to well to read and absorb the style of this book. Existing authors should note that it IS possible to write a sweeping family saga in less than 1,000 pages.

An exquisite work. Alistair MacLeod definitely ranks at the top for this gift to literature. His dynamic use of the language paints vibrant images of a family and its legacy and reminds us of why we read.

Beautiful is not a word I use often, but it is appropriate for short and moving novel. Every word, scene, and action in No Great Mischief seems to have been selected with the utmost care and artistry. MacLeod's themes are exile, family loyalty, and the destruction of traditional cultures by the modern world. MacLeod writes about the descendents of Scottish emigrants who settled on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, providing an unsentimental and eloquent picture of the traditional way of life of the poor fishers and farmers of that region. Their powerful family ties, their preservation of Gaelic language and Scots traditions, and the ways in which the modern world erodes these traditions is shown through the story of one extended Cape Breton family. Few will be able to read this book without having to pause to control strong emotions.

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.