The Lost Salt Gift of Blood
Encyclopedia
The Lost Salt Gift of Blood is a collection of short stories by Canadian author Alistair MacLeod
. It was originally published in 1976. All of the stories contained is the collection were later republished in the book Island
, together with other works by Alistair MacLeod.
According to the blurb of the book;
"The evocative and haunting collection is set Cape Breton Island
, Nova Scotia
and in Newfoundland, a remote region where Gaelic is still spoken, old legends live on, and the same cold sea that washes the Hebrides beats against the granite cliffs. With a tearing lyricism, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood lays bare the joys, the fears, the darkness, and the shining hope of communities whose isolation is at once a curse and a blessing."
The style of the writing contained in the book is such that the descriptions of the people, their thoughts, fears and eccentricities, as well as the detailed and warm descriptions of the events in the book are the main focus, rather than the events themselves having any complexity.
Among the reviewed received were the following:
'Macleod writes with the sort of intensity that gives his beautifully shaped sentences the haunting power of the Gaelic songs which are within him' - The Times (London)
'MacLeod's melancholy and startlingly beautiful stories are like live wires, their currents of memory and grief shocking through their unprotected simplicity... each one like a novel boiled down to it's essence.' - The Observer
'MacLeod belongs to that very special breed of writer who uses a specific place and it's people to convey a universal experience. This is a fine collection.' The Herald (Glasgow)
Alistair MacLeod
Alistair MacLeod, OC is a noted Canadian author and retired professor of English at the University of Windsor.- Academic career :...
. It was originally published in 1976. All of the stories contained is the collection were later republished in the book Island
Island (book)
Not to be confused with Aldous Huxley's novel by the same name.Island is a book of short stories by Alistair MacLeod, published in 2000 by McClelland and Stewart....
, together with other works by Alistair MacLeod.
According to the blurb of the book;
"The evocative and haunting collection is set Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and in Newfoundland, a remote region where Gaelic is still spoken, old legends live on, and the same cold sea that washes the Hebrides beats against the granite cliffs. With a tearing lyricism, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood lays bare the joys, the fears, the darkness, and the shining hope of communities whose isolation is at once a curse and a blessing."
The style of the writing contained in the book is such that the descriptions of the people, their thoughts, fears and eccentricities, as well as the detailed and warm descriptions of the events in the book are the main focus, rather than the events themselves having any complexity.
Stories
- "In the Fall"
- "The Vastness of the Dark"
- "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood"
- "The Return"
- "The Golden Gift of Grey"
- "The Boat"
- "The Road to Rankin's Point"
Critical Acclaim
The book was met with critical acclaim, particularly in the UK.Among the reviewed received were the following:
'Macleod writes with the sort of intensity that gives his beautifully shaped sentences the haunting power of the Gaelic songs which are within him' - The Times (London)
'MacLeod's melancholy and startlingly beautiful stories are like live wires, their currents of memory and grief shocking through their unprotected simplicity... each one like a novel boiled down to it's essence.' - The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
'MacLeod belongs to that very special breed of writer who uses a specific place and it's people to convey a universal experience. This is a fine collection.' The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald (Glasgow)
The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...