What do you think?
Rate this book
A game of patience
Book by King, Francis Henry
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
About the author
Francis King
78 books25 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Francis Henry King, CBE, was a British novelist, poet and short story writer.
He was born in Adelboden, Switzerland, brought up in India and educated at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford. During World War II he was a conscientious objector, and left Oxford to work on the land. After completing his degree in 1949 he worked for the British Council; he was posted around Europe, and then in Kyoto. He resigned to write full time in 1964.
He was a past winner of the W. Somerset Maugham Prize for his novel The Dividing Stream (1951) and also won the Katherine Mansfield Short Story Prize. A President Emeritus of International PEN and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 and a Commander of the Order (CBE) in 1985.
Francis Henry King, CBE, was a British novelist, poet and short story writer.
He was born in Adelboden, Switzerland, brought up in India and educated at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford. During World War II he was a conscientious objector, and left Oxford to work on the land. After completing his degree in 1949 he worked for the British Council; he was posted around Europe, and then in Kyoto. He resigned to write full time in 1964.
He was a past winner of the W. Somerset Maugham Prize for his novel The Dividing Stream (1951) and also won the Katherine Mansfield Short Story Prize. A President Emeritus of International PEN and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 and a Commander of the Order (CBE) in 1985.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 27, 2024
4.5, rounded up.
The 27th of King's novels for me to read; his 14th from 1974.
Even though the book is now 50 years old, it seems even older than that - perhaps because it is set in the final months of WW2, and seems much more of that era, than the swinging '70's in which it was written. It has all the hallmarks of an older, statelier form of fiction also - leisurely paced; careful, fully realized characterizations; and a de-emphasis on plot, per se, in favor of a portrait of a time and a way of life that has now been seemingly forgotten. Many might find this a rather dull read, but I was fascinated and found spending time with these characters enchanting.
The story revolves around 17-year-old Valerie, who has come to a small village in Surrey to work on the farm of Marion - whose husband Hugh is presumed to be a POW of the Japanese. Valerie's father is an MP, her mother THE Lady Garth Merrall, but Valerie (never Val!) has come to work the farm in order, more or less, to 'find herself' and come into her own sense of womanhood. Roy, a conscientious objector, is also working the farm for his wartime effort, and other inhabitants include Mrs. Thurloe, Hugh's ancient crone of a mother, forever playing the titular card game; Hugh's 6-year-old bratty asthmatic son Ian; and a regiment of military men setting up a balloon barrage on the outskirts of the town, headed by the suave and enigmatic Bob. The story weaves around these various characters, and though nothing really startling happens, there is enough intrigue and incidents to make for a pleasurable read.
The 27th of King's novels for me to read; his 14th from 1974.
Even though the book is now 50 years old, it seems even older than that - perhaps because it is set in the final months of WW2, and seems much more of that era, than the swinging '70's in which it was written. It has all the hallmarks of an older, statelier form of fiction also - leisurely paced; careful, fully realized characterizations; and a de-emphasis on plot, per se, in favor of a portrait of a time and a way of life that has now been seemingly forgotten. Many might find this a rather dull read, but I was fascinated and found spending time with these characters enchanting.
The story revolves around 17-year-old Valerie, who has come to a small village in Surrey to work on the farm of Marion - whose husband Hugh is presumed to be a POW of the Japanese. Valerie's father is an MP, her mother THE Lady Garth Merrall, but Valerie (never Val!) has come to work the farm in order, more or less, to 'find herself' and come into her own sense of womanhood. Roy, a conscientious objector, is also working the farm for his wartime effort, and other inhabitants include Mrs. Thurloe, Hugh's ancient crone of a mother, forever playing the titular card game; Hugh's 6-year-old bratty asthmatic son Ian; and a regiment of military men setting up a balloon barrage on the outskirts of the town, headed by the suave and enigmatic Bob. The story weaves around these various characters, and though nothing really startling happens, there is enough intrigue and incidents to make for a pleasurable read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review