 | |
| Author | Alistair MacLeod |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | McClelland & Stewart |
Publication date | 1999 |
| Publication place | Canada |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 296 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7710-5567-6 |
| OCLC | 42240172 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | 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 songs.
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." 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 co-workers.
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.
Calum is posited as a contemporary clan chief of the MacDonalds defending the lost cause of Gaelic culture. His defence of Highland values parallels the devastating consequences of the Highland support for Charles Stuart in 1745. Throughout the book, Calum defends clan values in spite of the personal consequences. His distant Californian nephew, who has no idea of these values, steals from the Quebec miners. Calum's defence leads to murder and hard time, while the nephew blithely returns to California. Calum becomes the beaten alcoholic shell of a formerly strong man due to his reflexive support of the old clan values that have long since vanished as guiding principles, even among his own direct family.
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.
Alistair MacLeod, was a Canadian novelist, short story writer and academic. His powerful and moving stories vividly evoke the beauty of Cape Breton Island's rugged landscape and the resilient character of many of its inhabitants, the descendants of Scottish immigrants, who are haunted by ancestral memories and who struggle to reconcile the past and the present. MacLeod has been praised for his verbal precision, his lyric intensity and his use of simple, direct language that seems rooted in an oral tradition.
Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.
North Uist is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
A Scottish clan is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, which regulates Scottish heraldry and coats of arms. Most clans have their own tartan patterns, usually dating from the 19th century, which members may incorporate into kilts or other clothing.
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid and the Clan MacLeod of Lewis Assynt and Raasay, known in Gaelic as Sìol Torcaill. Both branches claim descent from Leòd, a Norse-Gael who lived in the 13th century.
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Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literary works composed in the Scottish Gaelic language, which is, like Irish and Manx, a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Gaelic literature was also composed in Gàidhealtachd communities throughout the global Scottish diaspora where the language has been and is still spoken.
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