The Finishing School

The Finishing School Review

"You begin" he said "by setting your scene. You have to see your scene, either in reality or in imagination" thus begins the setting of "The Finishing School". Muriel Spark has set in motion another one of her indelibly fascinating novels.

Rowland Mahler and his wife, Nina run the College Sunrise. The school moves from country to country each year. It is easier that way when finances get tough. They have ten students, nine attend school. The setting this year is Lausanne. The students are well placed and receive a good enough education.

One of the students, Chris Wiley is a literary prodigy who has a novel in progress that has interested the publishers. Of note, Rowland is also a novelist whose intent is to write the novel of the century. At once, Rowland is jealous of his student, Chris. He derives every act he can think of to find the novel, but he fails. The entire school knows what he is after, but no one really cares. Most of the novel revolves around the writing of the novel and who will be the winner.

Into this mixture come sexual intrigue, men and women and men and men. What is it that makes men and women like this game of cat and mouse? Why are we so good at hiding our actual feelings and other people are so good at figuring out what they are?
Who are the hypocrites, and why are we so delusional?

Muriel Spark has written over twenty novels. I have read most of them. This is not her best novel and iat is quite short. Muriel Spark is considered a master of our time. She can capture our hysteria and paranoia in such subtle language. This is a book to be read and savored. Highly recommended. prisrob

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The Finishing School Overview

Passionately determined to write his novel whilst running College Sunrise, a finishing school for both sexes and mixed nationalities, Rowland Mahler is assisted by his wife, Nina Parker. This term there is a new star pupil - Chris, seventeen, also determined to write his masterpiece.

The Finishing School Specifications

The elegantly written The Finishing School reminds us again of Muriel Spark's unique talent, combining a wry sympathy for human behaviour with a clear-eyed assessment of our foibles. All her books, from the The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to the lesser known volumes, possess an insinuating charm and an understated but often lethal satirical thrust; few middle-class absurdities have gone unanalysed.

The Finishing School is concise but it has all the insinuating charm of her best work. Rowland Mahler and his wife Nina run a mixed-sex finishing school called College Sunrise. Rowland has aspirations as a novelist but he has an unconscious rival--a talented pupil, Chris--whose literary efforts effortlessly outpace Rowland's. Soon a poisonous atmosphere suffuses the school as Rowland falls prey to agonies of jealousy. Spark has always been good at the tensions and rivalries of the school environment, and her touch is as sure as ever in this highly diverting piece. --Barry Forshaw

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