No Great Mischief

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1999

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Chapters 34-36Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 34 Summary

One time, Alex and Catherine are together in her house in Calgary. They remember their grandparents and the stories they were told. They share a song together, the Gaelic words arriving hesitantly at first but then strongly. Songs, they decide, have had an important presence in the family, and they share memories of their relatives singing. Catherine shares a story, told to her by her Grandma, of the time when their grandfather—raising his daughter alone after his wife died in child birth—came to ask for help in explaining “the facts” to his daughter, who was rapidly approaching puberty.

Catherine tells another story, this one about a time she went on safari with her husband at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. When looking at the animals, the tour guides apologize for the presence of the local Masai people, who are herding their cattle. When she looks into the eyes of the Masai people, she believes she sees a mixture of fear and disdain. The story drifts into another recollection of their grandfather and his loneliness. They notice the similarities between their own missing parents and his departed father, as well as the void he desperately sought to fill for their mother when he acted as a single parent.

Alex and Catherine discuss history, particularly the travails of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, who came to fight in Canada. Eventually, they move on to looking at a photo album. After sharing memories, Alex agrees to stay another day and visit Banff, possibly going as far as the Great Divide.

Chapter 35 Summary

To most of the mining community, Alexander MacDonald seems just like his other relatives. He is moved into a bunk with Alex, who learns that the boy used to be a star quarterback in high school, and Alex sees a collection of newspaper clippings which describe his style of play as fearless. Alexander shows a faltering understanding of the family’s history. He also possesses a ring with a Celtic design, the never-ending circle.

Chapter 36 Summary

Several colleges had scouted Alexander, but an injury in his final game robbed him of his speed. The colleges lost interest, but he was deemed fit enough for military service in Vietnam. Calum is impressed at how quickly Alexander takes to the mining work.

News is slow to arrive in the camp. Alex has a vague awareness of politics in the outside world, as well as new mineral deposits, which might lead to future work for the miners. Political moves in Quebec interest the French-Canadian members of the mining team, who sing songs that bring tears to their eyes.

Marcel Gingras’s English improves greatly. Alexander is sociable and affable, more so than many others. He would nod and smile at Fern Picard, a feat unthinkable for Alex and his closer family members. Alex, Alexander, and Marcel seem separated from the intense rivalry that burns between the other miners. Calum tells Alex that he is impressed enough with Alexander, so Alex might be able to return home. Alex thinks about it but declines the offer.

Chapters 34-36 Analysis

The importance of geography is constantly stressed in the book. The characters who move far away from their home in Cape Breton are often robbed of the identity that clann Chalum Ruaidh share. Alex, later in life, seems to have nothing in common with his younger self, and it is only when he goes to visit Calum or Catherine that he is able to enjoy fleeting reminders of this time and this bond. The frequency of Gaelic, songs, and dogs in these moments is clear. These are the adornments of life in Cape Breton, the little details that everyone takes for granted when they are at home but—when they are further away—often rely upon to nurture a connection to that homeland. Alex and Catherine sing in Gaelic to recollect their youth and strengthen their bonds to clann Chalum Ruaidh.

It is a similar story for the Masai tribes people Catherine sees while on safari. They wander across the land, not restrained by modern ideas of boundaries or borders. Rather, their connection to their home country is stronger than these contemporary inventions, and they are able to continue, regardless. Their days are numbered, however. The Masai will not be able to continue forever, and clann Chalum Ruaidh seem similarly doomed to dwindle into irrelevance. The tension between the old and the new propels much of the narrative of the text, with characters struggling to reconcile modern existence with a past they once knew. Calum turns to the drink, while Alex and Catherine travel great distances and share treasured memories, all in the hope of keeping alive their old conception of what it means to be a family.