A celebration of Scottish gloom

THE clash of civilisations said to be tearing the modern world apart is usually thought of as dividing East from West or Christianity from Islam. But a new interpretation suggests that the real divide is between California and north-east Scotland.

Disgusted by the detritus of “Little Books”—of Calm, Happiness, Wisdom, Confidence, Buddhism and anything that is good, kind and beautiful—seeping over from America, Bill Duncan, the head of English at Carnoustie High School in Angus, has produced a slim volume expounding an alternative philosophy. “The Wee Book of Calvin”*, a collection of aphorisms and essays celebrating the spirit of the foggy coastline around Dundee, seeks to drive out warm Californian optimism with a freezing blast of Scottish gloom.