The book by Alistair Macleod, No Great Mischief, is a novel about a man looking back over his life experiences. He talks about many different topics ranging from why people cry when they see tomatos being wasted to animals in families. The book also mentions the hardships that families in the regions must endure.
He begins by telling a story about his journey to see his brother Calum. Calum had a severe problem with alcohol, and couldn't survive without it. He felt that his life was horrible and worthless. He could not even hold his hands still when he was feeling an alcohol withdrawal. Calum was named after his great great grandfather, who was the founding father of the area, excluding Toronto. Alexander speaks about the highways, and how they go to many different places. Toronto is the area where highways two and three meet.
His grandparents and older brothers brought up Alexander. They taught him that family is more important than anything else in this world. If it were not for his upbringing, he would have never attempted to visit his brother.
Alexander's grandparents were never particularly well off. They lived a simple life, and things didn't improve until his grandfather got a job with a new hospital. His grandmother was very emotional about food. She once witnessed a farmer plowing over a field of tomatoes, and began to cry because she felt that he was wasting food that she would of loved to have and could not afford.
Throughout the book, he discusses his arrival in Canada, and how the weather is warm and nice in September. Calum was brought up poor, and remained poor throughout the duration of his life. He was so poor that he could only afford the cheapest of wines. When Alexander saw this style of living, he felt embarrassed to be related to him. He felt disgusted when he learned that he used the same eating utensils to butcher animals he killed.
The book also described the area of Cape Breton.
