Lucy Scholes shines a spotlight on The Nick of Time by Francis King: a state of the nation novel by an author who was finally nominated, aged 80
The Nick of Time
Written by Francis King
- Longlisted
- The Man Booker Prize 2003
- Published by Arcadia
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Francis King's provocative and adventurous novel looks at the havoc wrought when a young illegal immigrant finds himself in London
Mehmet leads a double life befriending and lodging with an elderly woman who suffers from MS, while at the same time having an affair with a female doctor and throwing himself onto the London gay scene. Disaster looms when he begins a relationship with a gay protector - and is arrested because of his illegal status.
Francis King
Francis King wrote some 30 novels but believed he was never viewed as a major writer because ‘the public tends to like its novelists to write the same novel over and over again’
More about Francis King Other nominated books by Francis King
The story of Antonio Valli, a young Italian philosopher, who arrives to do a year's research at a well-to-do university. He lodges with Dick Thompson, a successful middle-aged novelist, and the Italian's good looks and impulsive yet immensely likeable character soon have Dick captivated...
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