Humor and tragedy merge in this story of a family, and a culture, in crisis. At 112, Mickey McGuire is Canada's oldest citizen, but he remembers with perfect clarity the events beginning in Ottawa in 1895. That year, without investigating the cause of his daily fainting spells, school authorities decide that 12-year-old Mickey should stay home. But home is a problematic place, the site of frequent beatings of Mickey and his mother by his violent alcoholic father. Determined to spare her son further trauma, Mickey's mother sends him to stay on her family's farm run by her brother and twin sisters. Strong and tender, Uncle Ronald is wise in the ways of horses, geese, and men. When Mickey's mother arrives after a particularly savage beating, she is sure that her husband will follow. Meanwhile, armed federal troops have arrived at the farm to collect back taxes that no one can pay. Mickey's mother's sisters, the legendary O'Malley girls, are stalwart and shrewd in subverting the authorities' efforts. Uncle Ronald showcases Brian Doyle's firm grasp of time and place, and his distinctive storytelling voice weaves sound, sight, and disparate plot elements into a compelling whole.