No Great Mischief

Alistair Macleod
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No Great Mischief

Alistair Macleod
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Overview

CANADIAN304 PAGESENGLISH

Promotional Details
“MacLeod is MacLeod, the greatest living Canadian writer and one of the most distinguished writers in the world. No Great Mischief is the book of the year—and of this decade. It is a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece.”
—Globe and Mail

No Great Mischief is one of the best Canadian novels I’ve read in years. It’s a tale of truth about people who care for one another and for the living world around them. A lament and a celebration, it will endure.”
–Farley Mowat

“This is a simply great novel. The simplicity lies in the device of the plot. The greatness lies in its scope, imagination, and execution. . . . His message beguiles, his prose captivates, and his narrative never loosens a deceptively gentle grip.”
–Glasgow Herald

“You will find scenes from this majestic novel burned into your mind forever.”
–Alice Munro

“A triumph of fiction. . . . [MacLeod’s] storytelling is taut and lucid. His characters possess strength and depth. They linger in your mind.”
The Economist (U.K.)

“[A] mesmerizing, evocative story, infused with grace and wisdom.”
–Jury Citation, Trillium Award

“A powerful, intricate work.”
Toronto Sun

“MacLeod’s world of Cape Breton . . . has become a permanent part of my own inner library.”
New York Times Book Review

No Great Mischief feels like a book that’s gone deep and means to stay.”
Quill & Quire (starred review)

“A masterpiece of storytelling.”
Time Out (London)

“This book is a jewel. . . . Destined to become one of the most memorable Canadian novels of the decade.”
Hamilton Spectator

“A haunting and beautiful book. . . . MacLeod’s descriptions are remarkable.”
–Montreal Gazette

No Great Mischief is a lesson in the art of storytelling.”
Times Literary Supplement

“The work speaks of great loves . . . and tragic losses that will move readers in every corner of the world.”
Publishers Weekly

“A robust novel, celebrating all of the joys and tragedies life has to offer.”
Edmonton Journal

“MacLeod’s world, hard and real, has also the feel of resonant myth about it, enduring truths couched in pellucid prose.”
The Scotsman

“A great, hauntingly beautiful and enduring book.”
Kitchener-Waterloo Record

“Few readers will fail to be moved by No Great Mischief.”
Toronto Star

“[MacLeod’s] writing is of a quality that most writers can only dream of achieving.”
National Post

“The book is pervaded by humour and colour, intensely vivid, and very, very moving.”
—The Independent (U.K.)

Overall rating: 4.7777777 / 5 from 9 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["story","book","read","mischief"].

Review highlights

Reviews

No Great Mischief

"Such a wonder and engaging story about the Scots and Canada - and life with mines and just life’s journey in general. Would highly recommend."

Peggy (5/5)

Absolutely loved!

"My daughter had me read a short story called 'The Boat' by Alistair MacLeod that she had read, studied and dissected in one of her English classes at McGill University. I was hooked on this author at once and wanted more. NO GREAT MISCHIEF did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the characters, the various settings, the sentence structure, the vocabulary. . . I cried several times and especially at the end. I have visited Cape Breton Island and am familiar with the bridge that leads to the island and that is showcased in the final chapters. This novel is a fine example of excellent literature and reminiscent of Michael Crummey's works set in Newfoundland. I never tire reading about this coast of our great country!"

Annabel (5/5)

Definitely Hits Close to Home

"Extremely pleased with the quality of this book. Coming from a old fishing/farming town in Cape Breton, this descriptors in the pages created very vivid images for me as I pictured the setting as if it was at home. Each character description reminded me of a local, and the overall way of the land hasn't changed a whole lot other than transportation and accessibility. Lovely read for someone missing a Cape Breton lifestyle!"

Cmac1995 (5/5)

Read many years ago - still with me.

"A great book. still quiet and unassuming, but captivating all the same."

GeneGrenny (4/5)

Beautiful Story

"A wonderful read. A true understanding of ""home"" and the emotions involved with leaving. . . and returning."

Sandra (5/5)

One of my all time top ten

"I wish Alistair MacLeod had lived to write more books. Every word is poetry and sings Cape Breton. It recounts the history of a family from the Scottish expulsions to the present dealing with escape from the poverty of the island to the habitual return of its inhabitants who are drawn by the music, the Gaelic language and lure of family. MacLeod spent the summers for years In a small shack overlooking the sea writing this book. Voted Atlantic Canada's best book of all time is a must read for anyone interested in Canadian literary fiction."

Kent (5/5)

I really liked this book

"Easy read, but lots to think about"

Bella (5/5)

Amazing!!

"Wonderful writing, wonderful story."

Booster (5/5)

Saw the play and

"Saw the play and had to read the book to figure out the plot. Love MacLeod's writhing."

Lois (4/5)

Q&A

  • Published date: Jan 25, 2001
  • Language: English
  • No. of Pages: 304
  • Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
  • ISBN: 9780771055706
  • Dimensions: 5.18" W x 0.64" L x 7.99" H
Alistair MacLeod was born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, in 1936 and raised among an extended family in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. In his early years, to finance his education he worked as a logger, a miner, and a fisherman, and he wrote vividly and sympathetically about such work.
     His early studies were at the Nova Scotia Teachers College, St. Francis Xavier, the University of New Brunswick and Notre Dame, where he took his Ph.D. For more than three decades, he taught creative writing at the University of Windsor, Ontario, where he was a professor of English.
     MacLeod’s only novel, No Great Mischief, won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, the Trillium Book Award, the CAA-MOSAID Technologies Inc. Award for Fiction, and at the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Awards, MacLeod won for Fiction Book of the Year and Author of the Year. 
     He was also the author of two internationally acclaimed collections of short stories: The Lost Salt Gift of Blood (1976) and As Birds Bring Forth the Sun (1986). In 2000, these two books, accompanied by two previously unpublished stories, were brought together in a single-volume edition entitled Island: The Collected Stories.
     Alistair MacLeod died in April 2014.

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