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|publisher=Vintage
|date=August 2011
|website=|video=|summary=''No Great Mischief '' is a novel which captures the essence of belonging and the need to be a part of one's history. This is the story of a small part of Clann Calum Ruadh, the people of Red Calum, emigrants to Canada. It sweeps from contemporary Toronto to evoke Cape Breton in the fifties and back to the clearances of Scottish history. MacLeod tells the tale with the dignity and stature of an ancient myth, holding up to our gaze what it means to be a part of a race, a family and a place.
|cover=0099283921
|aznuk=0099283921
What is almost impossible to convey here is the strength of the writing, of the simple language which weaves again and again through the motifs of family and place. Whether he is creating moments of heart-wrenching loss, or noble fortitude, of great humour and magnificent beauty, of friendship and camaraderie that can turn in an instant to hatred and violence, MacLeod is a great writer almost always in calm and gentle control of his art, and of us. We are led to a sense of both sorrow and celebration for the life he portrays, and for the nobility of human hope in the face of change.
[[The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney]] evokes a similar atmosphere and creates something of the physicality of a the isolated place. A much more detailed historical account of some elements of the background to this story are to be found in [[The Great Famine: Ireland's Agony 1845-1852 by Ciaran O Murchadha]]. While this is set in Ireland, the context surrounding the Celtic diaspora emerge here very clearly. You might also appreciate [[The Free World by David Bezmozgis]].
{{amazontext|amazon=0099283921}}