The Finishing School

I enjoyed a quick read last week, Scottish author Muriel Spark's 2004 novella "The Finishing School." Spark is best known for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," originally published in 1961, and I think "The Finishing School" is her 22nd book. It's a short, quirky tale about the relationship between Rowland, the principal of a private secondary school and Chris, one of the school's pupils, a seemingly confident boy of 17. Rowland has been struggling for years with one form or another of writer's block, as he tries to get a foothold on his novel in progress. Chris on the other hand, audaciously flaunts the ease with which he is constructing his own book, an historical novel about Mary Queen of Scots. As you can guess from the plot, the tension in the story is spare and comedic. Interestingly, the tone occasionally reminded me of Alexander McCall Smith's "Sunday Philosophy Club" titles...could it be the Scottish voice coming through?