The Long Stretch

The Cape Breton Trilogy #1

by Linden MacIntyre

From a gifted storyteller and one of Canada’ s most respected journalists, The Long Stretch is a saga of love and war, the story of those who have "gone away" and those who are compelled to stay. In one apocalyptic night, John Gillis and his estranged cousin Sextus confront a half century of half-truths and suppositions that have shaped and scarred their lives, their families and their insular Cape Breton community. Telling stories that unravel a host of secrets, they begin to realize that they were damaged before they were born, their fathers and a close friend forming an unholy trilogy in a tragic moment of war. Among the roots of a complex and painful relationship, they uncover the truth of a fateful day John has spent 20 years trying to forget. Taut and brilliantly paced, etched with quiet humour and crafted with fiery dialogue, The Long Stretch is a mesmerizing novel in the tradition of Alistair MacLeod, David Adams Richards and Ann-Marie MacDonald.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Book Club, Canadian Literature

252 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Linden MacIntyre is the co-host of the fifth estate and the winner of nine Gemini Awards for broadcast journalism. His most recent book, a boyhood memoir called Causeway: A Passage from Innocence won both the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction and the Evelyn Richardson Prize for Non-Fiction.

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after reading the Bishop's Man. The Long Stretch clarified some of the events that were central to the story in the Bishop's Man. However, I found this book a bit dry and sometimes tedious to read. I had difficulty keeping myself focussed as events jumped back and forth. I even had a time tracing whose father was whose. The story is based on a conversation between two cousins who proceed to get very drunk and reveal secrets to each other. In my mind it takes too long to reveal the details of the central theme. MacIntyre is an excellent writer and he is exceptional at portraying the Cape Breton people. This book, however, would not be my first recommendation for someone reading his works for the first time.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Long Stretch (1999) is the first entry in Linden MacIntyre's Cape Breton Trilogy, which includes the novels The Bishop's Man (2006) and Why Men Lie (2012). Looking at this novel in isolation, it's easy to see why the author felt compelled to return to these characters in later works. The Long Stretch, filled with ghosts whose past actions have determined the course that many lives follow in the present, leaves more than a few questions unanswered and narrative possibilities unexplored. In these pages there are secrets and bad behaviour galore as well as enough half-truth, rumour and innuendo to fill ten novels. Sextus Gillis has returned to Port Hastings, Cape Breton, after an absence of many years and while in town encounters his cousin John (a recovering alcoholic) on the street outside the liquor store (where else?). They retreat to the kitchen of John's family house (located on "the long stretch" of road outside of town), where John now lives by himself, and what follows is a night-long booze-soaked conversation between the two. The cousins share a fraught personal relationship (John's wife Effie ran off to Toronto with Sextus; Sextus--a journalist--published a novel loosely based on the Gillis family's private history, borrowing liberally from John's experiences), which makes their conversation--filled with confession and accusation--occasionally tense and even physical. The novel, set in November 1983, describes events mostly from the previous two decades, but also reaches back to their fathers' experiences overseas in WWII. For a narrative based largely on an extended dialogue between two people, the novel generates great suspense as we wait to see what rumour will be debunked and secret revealed next. The narrator is John, and as the conversation moves forward he recounts his own impressions of those times for the reader's benefit. This is a complex story of tragedy, betrayal and relentless disappointment as the characters struggle to make their own lives and those of their families livable during a seemingly endless cycle of boom and bust engendered by flawed government economic initiatives in a chronically disadvantaged region. More than anything else, though, it is a study of how misunderstanding, hidden truth and lingering resentment can lay waste to lives and families. A compelling read.

[Ann-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read while visiting Cape Breton which added a while extra layer to the novel for me. Read #2 in this series years ago and this was #1, but that didn’t matter, you could read in any order. Incredible writing style. I loved the constant flip backs and the way the story was NOT told chronologically - this may bother some readers but I loved the complexity it added.

Themes of family, loyalty, locked emotions, secrets, rural life, post-war trauma, Maritime/ Cape Breton Canadiana.

[Kelly Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story of cousins John and Sextus Gillis explores the impact of secrets and small communities. Set in Cape Breton, the story has its roots in events in Holland during WWII. Alternating between present day (1983), when John runs into Sextus and they spend a drunken evening together, and the past, the story unfolds in layers which I still need to digest.

[Milly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Linden MacIntyre's memoir Causeway to be his best book and prefer it to his novels.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have arrived at the conclusion that it is preferable to read a novelist’s work in chronological order. This allows one to see the author’s progression and refinement of his or her craft. But more often than not, I find a particularly good novel and then circle back to read some of the novelist’s earlier works – in effect doing the progress in reverse.

I had read a couple of Linden MacIntyre’s novels and decided to give his debut work “The Long Stretch” a try. It does not have the depth and polish of his later works but still shines in places. He uses a rapid-fire, back and forth narrative style between the past and the present as John Gillis and his estranged cousin Sextus spend one night together reliving a turbulent time earlier in their lives and attempting to heal old wounds.

“The Long Stretch” jumps around a bit too much for my liking. But MacIntyre’s gift for bring his native Cape Breton to life, and to create memorable characters, is evident. So, while not as honed as his later works, it is still an enjoyable read.

[Andree · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, but rounding up. I picked this up on a whim today. It's one of the many books on my shelves. I was looking for something different. Wasn't expecting to read the whole thing. I feel like the writing is excellent. It's very slice of life. It's essentially an intergenerational family story, but it's not 800 pages. This is essentially 2 cousins sitting at a kitchen table, drinking and reminiscing. The writing itself worked for me, I think. I'm not sure it's a set-up that always does. But on the other hand, I feel like I know the place. At the end of the day, I think it's just quietly sad. I inherited the whole trilogy, and I'm debating what to do about the other two. I certainly don't think the next one will be uplifting. I suspect well-written though. So we shall see. I think I'm glad I read this one. I definitely just fell into it, so there's that.

[Sandy K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good friend couldn’t say enough about this author. He is a Canadian treasure and her favourite author. What better reason to pick up this book?

This is the first book in a trilogy. The story unfolds with two cousins drinking and discussing family secrets, misconceptions and ghosts that have impacted their lives after an incident that happened during the war. The story is told in flashes between past and present and manages to create the tightness of family and this small community where they live.

My only problem was the characters with the same name. It was sometimes hard to remember which family member they were talking about.

I liked this enough to read the second book in the trilogy The Bishop’s Man.

This book would be a solid 3.8.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always liked Linden from his TV work. I was sure his book would be good (and it was).
I didn't realize it was the first book of a trilogy, so if possible, I will try to find the next couple of books because they carry on with many of the characters in this one.
I did find it somewhat confusing at the beginning of the book, trying to keep track of just who these people were (Sandy, Angus and Jack). The book also moves back and forth from the present (John and Sextus, cousins meeting after a long absence from each other). There were times when I would get a tad confused, especially when picking up the book after a few days absence.
All in all, it was a good book, characteristic of life in Cape Breton, back during the 60's and onward.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m reading books set in the. Maritime Provinces of Canada to get ready for a trip there this summer. All of the books about Cape Breton seem to be running together. The themes seem to be about insular isolated communities where everybody drinks too much, families are dysfunctional and people have to leave to get a decent job. This book is the same as the others except for the added element of WW2 trauma. There is authenticity to the book as the author obviously knew the setting and people very well. I had a hard time tying the initiating conflict to everything that came thereafter. Otherwise, it is certainly readable, just not any different than the rest.

[Kathy MacDonald · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book. I had to force myself to read the entire book. It is a story about the mixed up lives of some Newfoundland families. The trouble all seems to stem back to an incident that happened in Europe during WW2. Three Newfoundland men are involved in a mystery that leaves one of them with a bullet wound.
The incident is alluded to throughout the entire book but always in a vague way. It just goes on too long. The book is written from the perspective of one of the sons of the men involved. I had high hopes for this series because the second book won a literary prize and was written by a Canadian author. I won’t carry on reading the series.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this trilogy based on a review and the fact that he’s a Canadian author. I’ve got to say this book took me forever to get through. I thoroughly enjoyed the story as I almost always do with Canadian authors. It could have been that I just wasn’t in a reading mood or that the dialogue was very much in his head a lot of times as remembrances. Probably a combination of the two. It was also quite heavy over all. I’ll be taking a break to read something completely difference in tone and style before opening the next one.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book after The Bishop's Man and Why Men Lie and this one goes a long way to filling in some of the background of the characters in those two books. This book is well-written -- MacIntyre has a way with words and ideas. Like other reviewers have noted, the book becomes tedious form time to time as most of what happens is detailed in conversation. Overall, I would recommend it as a good piece of Atlantic Canadian literature.

[Stephanie Pieck · Rating 3 out of 5]

When two men went off to fight in World War II, they left behind a third man. Before the war, the three had been close, but something happened "over there ..."
This novel follows the adult sons of two of those men as they share a night of drinking, confessions, conflict, and discovery. Although one man knew his father wasn't the war hero everyone claimed he was, the "truth" he "knew" was very different than the "truth" his drinking companion and cousin reveals.

[Jovdb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it really difficult to get into this book. I didn't care what really happened in Holland, how it impacted people's lives or what the ending was.

This was a confusing way to tell the story: going between the past, present and distant past. I had to concentrate to figure out which "old man" they were talking about and who was who's son.

I like The Bishop's Man much better.

[Wendell Hennan · Rating 1 out of 5]

One minute I detest this book that drags on repetitively regurgitating the same family community secrets and then I am engaged in the emotions and memories that John and Sextus keep kicking around together and reliving. Linden certainly recaptures the economic mood of Cape Breton as it went through surges and fizzles.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book solely based on my affinity for Cape Breton. It ended up being a fantastically written book, a time machine to a Cape Breton of the 1960s and 1970s. One foot in the past and one in a very uncertain future. But the real joy are the characters who are so realistically written you wonder how much is biographical and how much is fictional.

[Ian MacIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting reading a novel about a place you know. I can picture it in my mind. I know the history, where they walked, where they were looking and where they drank.


I read Book 2 and 3 first, but you don't have to read them in order to enjoy MacIntyre's tales.


An excellent read, but you have to keep your wis about you.

[Katrina Witteveen-roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was tough to follow in the beginning, a lot of characters and time jumping. Sometimes it wasn’t always clear who was involved in the conversation.

As you get to know the characters better it becomes easier to understand, and by the end it is engaging enough.

[Mike Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark and moody atmosphere wrapped in a ball of mystery that keeps on unraveling but sadly stuck in a repetitive and frustrating loop. There are moments of great tension and the story is interesting in parts, but not enough to hold my attention in the end.

[JoAnne Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to rate this book, too many unanswered questions & lots of mystery.

[Billie Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tells a great story, while revealing all that's hidden

[Sharonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a well-realized backdrop with believable characters.

[Jasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, however lots of characters to keep track of. Starting 2nd book of trilogy.

[Trudy]

Good

[Judy Falls · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like Linden McIntyre’s writing, however, this is not one of his better literary works. The book is dry, and extremely boring. I had to really focus to finish the book.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack and Sextus Gillis, cousins, meet after thirteen years and spend an evening reminiscing about their fathers and their friend, Angus MacAskill. Jack’s father Sandy was injured in Holland near the end of World War II; Angus was present but because the two men give few details about how the injury occurred, rumours aboud when the men return home to Cape Breton. The most frequent rumour is that Angus shot Sandy because of jealousy over a Dutch woman.

Nether of the two cousins was especially close to his father, each tending to favour his uncle, and the relationship between the cousins was acrimonious after Jack’s wife (Angus’s daughter) ran off with Sextus. Nonetheless, when the cousins encounter each other, they try to piece together what actually happened to Sandy, to find the truth behind all the rumours and speculations.

A major theme of the novel was outlined by the author: “the extent to which lives are shaped by collateral consequences. Decisions or unconsidered actions by individuals we could not have known contribute to who we are or will become.” The actions of Angus and Sandy in the war affect their families even though the family members, like Jack and Sextus, do not know the details of what happened: “Personalities yet unformed will be marked by an event of which their generation will have no knowledge.”

Because the pivotal event between Angus and Sandy took place during the war, obviously the book is also about the effects of war: “The deviance of what people do in war becomes appallingly clear only to the survivors. It is in the aftermath of war that the greatest disfigurement occurs in the human soul.”

The search for truth is also a unifying idea in the book. One character says, “’you spend your whole life either searching for [it] or hiding from [it]’” or “’let other things get in the way of truth.’” Jack has difficulty accepting certain truths about his father, but in the end seems to adopt the philosophy of his friend Millie who says, “’Life is a sequence of mistakes and consequences and a process of getting smarter because of them. . . . The hard part is those rare, big ones. They’re the ones that either destroy you or make you wiser.’” The older generation is largely destroyed but for Jack and Sextus there is hope that they have gained some wisdom.

The reticence of the older generation to discuss serious issues reminded me so much of my parents’ generation which tried to shield children from unpleasant truths, so I found this book very realistic.

The portrayal of life on Cape Breton and the changes brought by the construction of the Canso Causeway was very interesting.

This is a book that gives the reader some ideas to ponder, but it is also entertaining; there is certainly an element of suspense throughout as we wonder whether the truth will be completely uncovered.

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[Steven Langdon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pushed to this book after reading "Why Men Lie" and "The Bishop's Man." I enjoyed both those novels very much, and found this book to be less impressive -- it relies too much on an extended all-night conversation between Sextus and John Gillis, and though the dialogue between the two is well-written and sharp-edged, there is a sense that not much is actually happening in the book (despite all the flashbacks, some of them quite vivid, especially in the mine-settings.)

Nevertheless, as several reviews of "Why Men Lie" have suggested, this book, its content, and the relationships it traces among certain of the characters are quite helpful in understanding better the setting within which Effie is playing out her fears and her memories in the most recent novel. The way in which this novel treats Effie also makes more understandable the reason MacIntyre felt drawn to write "Why Men Lie" from Effie's point of view. Effie is a major figure in this novel, even though she is never presented from her own viewpoint. (This book is written from John's perspective.)

I noted with respect to "Why Men Lie" the central role of violence in shaping the environment of its characters, and that is even more the case in this novel -- with Sextus actually playing with a gun, even holding it to his head, during some of the heaviest of the scenes in this book. Even more so than in the two related novels, the picture sketched of Cape Breton is quite grim and gloomy, previewing what eventually happens perhaps at the end of "Why Men Lie."

[Ruth Seeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in a loosely linked trilogy that includes The Bishop's Man and Why Men Lie. I would actually argue, having read The Bishop's Man first, that it would be very difficult to understand Why Men Lie without having read The Long Stretch (although reading The Bishop's Man isn't necessary; in many ways it's the stand-alone novel in the trilogy). Thematically the books are very definitely linked, since the predominant theme of all three is the damage done both to the human psyche and to society by keeping secrets, revealing only partial truths, and lies of omission.

This was MacIntyre's first novel and it's an accomplished one. It's a fault in me, not in him, that I became impatient with the now-familiar litany of alcoholism, dour Scottish-ancestry-withholding (the things we don't talk about even though we should), the way WWII shaped and damaged an entire generation, and the crazy optimism of Cape Bretoners who pin their hopes for economic survival on first mining, then pulp mills, then the Causeway.

This novel focuses on John Gillis, who marries Duncan's sister Effie, and the mystery dating back to WWII he tries to solve that involves his father, Effie's father, and their friend Jack. MacIntyre does murky extremely well, and he also does 'small town' extremely well. Definitely recommended as long as you're not in the mood in which 'bleak' causes you to resent the novel you're reading.

[Toni Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. MacIntyre is a Canadian journalist, broadcaster and novelist who has won numerous awards for his writing and journalistic excellence. “The Long Stretch”, a fiction, written in 1999 is the first in his Cape Breton Trilogy.

The tale is a fine and haunting story told by an alcoholic who is occupying his time by digging into closely kept family secrets that have created many unsubstantiated rumours. The story centers on John and his first cousin, Sextus Gillis, who share the same family history and bear the burden of the same family secrets. 13 years after an estrangement they come together and in a drunken state they reminisce the past. Analysing flashback after flashback they gradually reveal the ghosts of the past to make sense of all the information and arrive at a conclusion they can live with. The encounter eventually clears the air between the two of them.

“The Long Stretch” brings everything alive in a story with a dialogue driven encounter. The prose conveys beautifully the language and landscape of Cape Breton, an island rich in history and mired with tradition where the Gaelic language and customs are kept alive in fawn respect of their heritage.

In Mr. Macintyre words it is evident he has a deep and loving passion for the people and the area.