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(More customer reviews)One of the wise Elders in the story says. "Music is the lubricant of the poor all over the world. In all the different languages." Books like these and the people who write them provide the same comfort, and encouragement, and are a gift for readers to continue reading when there seems to be less writing of this caliber produced. The quote from the first paragraph is actually from Mr. Alistair MacLeod's work, "No Great Mischief". It was the first novel he wrote and was one of the finest reading experiences in the last several years for me. This collection of short stories was published in 2 separate books prior to his novel, and they distinguished him as one of the great talents writing today.
These stories may indeed be short when measured by the page; however any given piece that you care to choose is essentially faultless. The concept of, "second sight", is a subject that arises in some of these tales, and while Mr. MacLeod may not have that particular brand of vision, he like any great writer does see things differently than most people perceive them. And his sensitivity to detail extends to the other senses, and then he is able to place it upon pages for the rest of us to enjoy. He engages the reader on every level with the environment he creates, the sounds, and the very texture of the places he brings you to. This is the kind of work that you get so deeply involved with that you think about these people as real, as real as the names of the places they live, work, and die that appear on a map.
I don't believe there is one transcendent theme he is presenting with these stories, there is far too much involved in each to place a label on them all. The climate is as vital as many of his characters, and he imbues it with personality that is nearly sentient. Water provides the food for eating and employment, to illustrate tradition, and to show its demise. It cruelly takes life, when as ice it is deceptive and kills, then provides the stage for heroic deeds, and also crossings that bring forth new human life to its shores. And when it is neither liquid nor solid but an amalgam, it becomes a barrier that forces a person to watch the passage of two caskets containing her Parents as the funeral cortège proceeds on the unreachable far shore.
The Author will take every emotion and not just make you feel it, but at times hurt or suffer from the intensity that he brings with his writing. A Grandmother holds her 11-year-old grandchild, and says that of her 30 grandchildren she will never know him, as his Parents do not value visits home. And the husband, his Grandfather tells the child if the interval of time is the same until he again visits, there will be no meeting as the Patriarch will most certainly be dead. Cruel words to a child? Not when this man writes the exchange. What comes through is truth and the acceptance of it, pleasant or not.
New technology may keep all books available sometime in the near future but that does not mean availability creates demand. Very few Authors write work that is so special that readers are interested in the work today, and in 100 years from now. This man is just such an Author. He is the type of writer that causes people to read for the pleasure of his thoughts.
Unconditionally recommended!
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