pickWhat a lovely, but quiet and melancholy book. Alexander, a successful middle aged orthodontist is visiting his much older brother in Toronto. His brother appears to be a nearly homeless drunk, shaking with addiction. But as Alex attends to him they reminisce and you discover their shared history and their differences. They come from Clan McDonald, highlanders that emigrated to Cape Breton in the 19th century ⬇️
Centique but kept their Gaelic language and highland history strong within them. There are some beautiful thoughts here but it is very contemplative rather than plot driven so you need to be in the right mood. So interesting to me as my husbands family originally came from Nova Scotia. I must find out if they have highland roots. 2y
Centique Photo is from the wild west coast of the South Island - Te Wai Pounamu - where we are visiting on holiday. Pretty isolated and it‘s gorgeous to explore. (Town has 565 residents) 2y
Centique @LeahBergen I think this is a kind of modern Canadian classic Leah? 2y
See All 26 Comments
BarbaraBB Gorgeous pic 😍 2y
squirrelbrain Lovely photo! 2y
LeahBergen Yes, it is! How cool that your husband‘s family is from Nova Scotia. It‘s a beautiful place (especially Cape Breton)! And I love this photo. 😊 2y
andrew61 Lovely photo Paula. 2y
batsy Beautiful 😍 2y
Centique @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @batsy thank you! This trip to the South Island was postponed from last year when we had lockdown so we feel very lucky to finally get here. 2y
Centique @LeahBergen it‘s quite a few generations ago but there‘s a little town up north which all the McLeods etc that came from Nova Scotia built. One day we‘ll get to visit that part of Canada ourselves (handy that it‘s next to Anne‘s island for me too!) 2y
Centique @andrew61 I think you might like this book Andrew. It has this lovely look at brotherhood through tragedy, an unusual thing for it‘s time to celebrate the softness and kindness between “tough” masculine men. 2y
CoverToCoverGirl My husband‘s family were McLeods. They came over on the ship Hector, by was of Nova Scotia around 1750ish. 2y
Reggie What a lovely pic and great review. How nice that you all are on holiday. Hope ya‘ll have a blast. 2y
Centique @CoverToCoverGirl our husbands may be distant relations! I‘ll have to ask the mother in law if her ancestry knowledge goes back that far to know what ship they emigrated to Canada in. Ancestry is a lot of fun sometimes ☺️ 2y
Centique @Reggie thank you Reggie. I just watched your bite sized book chat last night. You are so cool and passionate about the book and so well spoken! And when you read that excerpt I just about cried! I had to show my hub and Lucy “Look it‘s my friend Reggie on YouTube!”” I was so excited to see you “live” for the first time. 💕 2y
Reggie ❤️❤️❤️Thanks, Paula!!! I still think about that book. We were playing cards at Christmas and I laughed when I saw my brother had that same crease on his forehead that shows when we furrow our brows. 2y
CoverToCoverGirl @Centique I‘m an amateur genealogist. And I find it fascinating. 2y
CoverToCoverGirl @Reggie hey I‘m curious, are you okay with sending me a link? 🙂 2y
Centique @CoverToCoverGirl we‘re talking about Shawn the Book Maniacs channel that Reggie appeared on here https://youtu.be/NFHAU18MK7o 2y
merelybookish I love Alistair MacLeod. He kind of blew my mind when I first read him in university. Highly recommend his short stories! And do come to Nova Scotia. I'm in New Brunswick which is just next door. 😀![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png)
The Lost Salt Gift of Blood 2y
The Lost Salt Gift of BloodCentique @merelybookish I‘m stacking that one! Thanks for the recc, I was so impressed with his writing and the depth of feeling in this book. I so hope to get to your part of the world, it‘s so beautiful 😍 2y
shawnmooney I came across this review and all the warm and friendly comments a few days late but wow! I didn‘t get along so well with a short collection of MacLeod‘s short stories I tried, but I am very interested in this novel! And I have a lovely memory of a warm and friendly conversation I had with Alistair MacLeod at a bookish conference (AWP) in Vancouver 15 or so years ago. 🥰 2y
shawnmooney Paula, speaking of Bite-sized Book Chats (wasn‘t @reggie great?), how about chatting about this one for your second appearance? 2y
Centique @shawnmooney hi Shawn 👋 that sounds lovely! I will just need to get a copy of it from the library again and do a memory refresh. I‘ll send you an email when I have it. Hope you‘re doing well! 2y
Rissreads @Reggie Omg I did not know about this channel. I‘ve just watched you talk and oh my it‘s lovely to see your face and hear your voice! You are so passionate about what you read. I‘m blessed to have met you on Litsy, you make our world a wonderful place! 😘 what episode are you on Paula so I can watch you too! (edited) 2y
Centique @Rissreads hi Nerissa! I am on the 14th episode https://youtu.be/PadbFMEPXAQ and so is @merelybookish ! And then @trishb is on the 17th episode 😍😍😍 2y
