No Great Mischief

No Great Mischief
No Great Mischief  
Author(s) Alistair MacLeod
Country Canada
Language English
Publisher McClelland & Stewart
Publication date 1999
Media type Print
Pages 296
ISBN ISBN 0771055676, 9780771055676
OCLC Number 42240172
Dewey Decimal 813/.54 21
LC Classification PR9199.3.M3342 N6 1999

No Great Mischief is a 1999 novel by Alistair MacLeod.

The novel opens in the present day, with successful orthodontist Alexander MacDonald visiting his elderly older brother Calum in Toronto, Ontario. The novel explores the emotional bonds of family through flashbacks to their childhood in Cape Breton Island and young adulthood spent in the mines of Northern Ontario, clan history dating back to 1779, and present day interactions between the two brothers and a sister. Though written primarily in English, Scottish Gaelic and French are used in dialogue and song.

The novel also mirrors Canadian history as a whole, taking its title from James Wolfe's assertion in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham that Scottish soldiers should be sent into battle because "they are hardy, intrepid, accustomed to a rough country, and no great mischief if they fall." [237] The enduring linguistic and cultural tensions that have defined Canadian society are also reflected in the novel; during their time working in the uranium mines of Elliot Lake, the brothers are frequently in conflict with their francophone coworkers.

The novel explores the themes of brotherhood and the conflict between the rise of individualism and family in the post-modern world. Alex loves his alcoholic brother, Calum, despite his problems because Alex sees the potential in Calum. Alex lets his brother die in peace and with dignity even though he is a convicted murderer and alcoholic. The author uses Alex as an example for all human beings. MacLeod wants the reader to realize that "all of us are better when we're loved" and that forgiveness and love for humanity are the only weapons humans have against the destructive forces of evil.

The title "No great mischief if they fall" is found most easily in Findlay, J.T., "Wolfe in Scotland in the '45 and from 1749 to 1753." London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1928, p. 226. An earlier use of the citation that MacLeod used for his title appears in Gibson, John G. "Traditional Gaelic Bagpiping 1745-1945." Montreal and Kingston: MQUP, and Nat. Mus. Scot., 1998, p. 59.

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ^ GRANT, LAURA JEAN (2009-10-25). "No Great Mischief the greatest: Alistair MacLeod’s novel gets top spot in new book, Atlantic Canada’s 100 Greatest Books". The Cape Breton Post. http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=297391&sc=145. Retrieved 2009-10-26. 


External links

v · d · eThe International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
1996–1999

Remembering Babylon (1996) · A Heart So White (1997) · The Land of Green Plums (1998) · Ingenious Pain (1999)
2000–2009

Wide Open (2000) · No Great Mischief (2001) · The Elementary Particles (2002) · My Name Is Red (2003) · This Blinding Absence of Light (2004) · The Known World (2005) · The Master (2006) · Out Stealing Horses (2007) · De Niro's Game (2008) · Man Gone Down (2009)
2010–present

The Twin (2010) · Let the Great World Spin (2011)

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