Island, Alistair MacLeod

Born in North Battleford Saskatchewan, Alistair MacLeod moved to Dunvegan, Inverness County on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island when he was 10.


A specialist in British literature of the nineteenth century, MacLeod taught English for three years at Indiana University before becoming a professor of English and creative writing at the University of Windsor. Now retired, MacLeod lives on Cape Breton Island in the summer, where he spends part of his time "writing in a cliff-top cabin looking west towards Prince Edward Island."


MacLeod's stories focus on the "complexities and abiding mysteries at the heart of human relationships...Eloquent, humane, life-affirming, the stories in this astonishing collection seize us from the outset and remain with us long after the final page." (from the back cover)

Of the 14 stories in Island, I don't have a preference; I find them all interesting and unique.

I am really drawn to the work of Canadian writers, particularly those who write short stories. I find the depth of humanity and feeling that they explore in their short pieces to be intense and interesting. MacLeod is an author that lives up to the expectations I have of Canadian writers.