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A review by paperbackmatt
No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod
3.0
Overall, I would say I enjoyed this book. I don’t usually opt for historical fiction, but Alistair MacLeod is name that I have seen on bookshelves in local shops in my native Cape Breton.
I won’t lie, I was allures to purchase the book mostly because of its ties back to my home.
Al of that being said, I was at first kind of put-off by Alistair’s style of writing. This is something I would’ve read in my university English 101 class and would’ve been told to write a 1500 word comparative essay on one of “thee three topics”.
He has a way of repeating the same words over and over again. In short, it grew on me. I believe through the melody of stories he weaves with his language the use of repetitive words and names he is able to bring the reader back to stories he has already told. It is an interesting mechanic or style of writing we could play with in the future.
I think this was probably my favourite part of this book to be honest - the rest of the stories are relatively average but it was still able to maintain my interest to the end. I really felt like I was almost part of the MacDonald clan because I learned so much about the family.
I also guiltily enjoyed the scenery from back home mixed with my current life in Ontario. A lot of the names and places I can picture. I have either been there or know people from these places.
Despite the 3 stars I would recommend the great Canadian story to family and friends who like a good fictional memoir. Especially if they are from Cape Breton.
I won’t lie, I was allures to purchase the book mostly because of its ties back to my home.
Al of that being said, I was at first kind of put-off by Alistair’s style of writing. This is something I would’ve read in my university English 101 class and would’ve been told to write a 1500 word comparative essay on one of “thee three topics”.
He has a way of repeating the same words over and over again. In short, it grew on me. I believe through the melody of stories he weaves with his language the use of repetitive words and names he is able to bring the reader back to stories he has already told. It is an interesting mechanic or style of writing we could play with in the future.
I think this was probably my favourite part of this book to be honest - the rest of the stories are relatively average but it was still able to maintain my interest to the end. I really felt like I was almost part of the MacDonald clan because I learned so much about the family.
I also guiltily enjoyed the scenery from back home mixed with my current life in Ontario. A lot of the names and places I can picture. I have either been there or know people from these places.
Despite the 3 stars I would recommend the great Canadian story to family and friends who like a good fictional memoir. Especially if they are from Cape Breton.