MacGilliosa has his own individual literary voice, but he also animates the deeper voices of a specific community and those, by extension, of a lasting, general humanity. Indeed, some of these stories feed off the fighting tensions between individuals and families or wider, often insular, communities. As such, MacGilliosa is the natural successor to Iain Crichton Smith and Pòl MacAonghais. But these deep, powerful, layered stories also owe something to Chekhov and Chekhov’s ultimate protegé, Carver—at their best, they say so much more than they say.