Alistair McLeod in Helsinki

Before the recent Helsinki Book Fair at Messukeskus, I had never been to a book fair. I have grown to love books and reading even more than before, especially now that I am not forced to read the dry theory of many a university textbook! Being in Finland has livened my interest in history and things around me; it has also revived my interest in things Canadian! Hence the reason for my visit to the book fair to see Canadian author Alistair MacLeod on October 28, 2001.

Identities

No Great Mischief ("Cape
Bretonin laulu" in Finnish) is
a fictional account of the
MacDonald clan, who, when
driven from Scotland, settle in Nova Scotia. It is narrated by Alexander MacDonald, who tells the story of his family.

MacLeod says that all people in North America come from somewhere else and with No Great Mischief, he wanted to explore those families that come from somewhere else, but still maintain historical traditions. And as we all know, Canada is populated with millions of people like this. MacLeod, during his interview with me, discussed some of the themes that arose in the novel, including: tribal vs. individual identity; rural vs. urban dwellers; tradition vs. modernity and the ties between personal identity and place.

On tribal vs. individual identity, MacLeod indicates that all groups share some kind of tribal identity and time and time again it becomes much of a cliché. People in the same family are often identified by outsiders as individuals, and that their identity as a group becomes somewhat blurred when considered by outsiders.

On rural vs. urban, MacLeod believes that people lose their distinctiveness when they move to industrial cities and indicates that the push towards globalization has something to do with this. He thinks that rural areas allow people to maintain "ethnicity" for a long period of time. Those who move to cities such as Toronto and New York tend to lose their tribal ethnicity; this affects the second and third generations of a family, meaning eventually that those who move to the cities become "what is around them."

Rifts between generations

MacLeod also believes that urbanites are exposed to a more affluent lifestyle and have many more opportunities for education. He names one character, Catherine, because she was a woman, she had more opportunities than her brothers and hence chose to leave her home. Perhaps she felt somewhat alienated from the world she grew up in and it also brings up the issue of tradition vs. modernity. As time progresses, younger generations tend to give up traditions, which in the end also tend to erode tribal identities. MacLeod says that the younger characters in the novel don't use their bodies the same way (physically) as their forebears did, creating a rift between older and younger generations because they have very little in common. MacLeod said that this is something that Finns can most certainly identify with.

MacLeod believes that more value should be placed on people's identity in relation to where they come from. He says that this is a worldwide phenomenon because many millions of people are drawn out of their home communities for economic reasons and emotionally do not want to be where they end up. They lead "double lives", melding into the greater society at work, but retreating to their individual world of traditions and culture as soon as they leave work. This theme is also present in No Great Mischief.

No Great Mischief has been translated into no less than 14 languages (according to MacLeod) and has been a best-seller in Canada and in other countries all over the world. He doesn't understand why it is so popular, but he believes a writer is a communicator and No Great Mischief covers issues that speak to the larger world and he appreciates its popularity.

MacLeod awarded

Alistair MacLeod was born in 1936 and raised on Cape Breton Island and is the author of other books including The Lost Salt Gift of Blood and As Birds Bring Forth the Sun, as well as several short stories and works of poetry. He teaches at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario. This year he was awarded International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for No Great Mischief. His visit to the Helsinki Book Fair marked his second visit to Finland, which he described as "fun". He said he liked Finland because he "feels at home amongst nice people" and, like many Canadians, equated the landscape of Finland with that of Canada.

And finally, as a testament to his writing talents, author Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient) describes MacLeod as "one of the greatest undiscovered writers of our time." It certainly was great that he came to Finland to share "Cape Bretonin laulu" with us, allowing Finns to discover him too!

By Carmen Boudreau-Kiviaho