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A Kestrel for a Knave
Billy Casper is a fifteen-year-old with no future, growing up in poverty and seemingly destined to follow his older brother into a life of toil in the coal mines. Life at home is hard: his father has left, his mother's main interest is in picking up men at the pub, and his brother bullies him mercilessly. Nor are things better at school, where Billy is tormented by the other kids and treated as a troublemaker by the teachers. But a spark of hope enters Billy's lonely existence when he discovers a young kestrel hawk, Kes, and learns to train it. Billy gives to Kes all the love and devotion he has been denied, and in the hawk's silent strength and fierce independence he finds inspiration and the courage to survive.
An enduring work of English fiction, Barry Hines's bestseller A Kestrel for a Knave (1968) has never been out of print in Great Britain, where both the book and Ken Loach's film adaptation Kes (1969) have long been regarded as classics.
An enduring work of English fiction, Barry Hines's bestseller A Kestrel for a Knave (1968) has never been out of print in Great Britain, where both the book and Ken Loach's film adaptation Kes (1969) have long been regarded as classics.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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8446 people want to read
About the author
Barry Hines
27 books64 followersBarry Hines (June 30, 1939 – March 18, 2016) was an English author, playwright, and screenwriter. His novels and screenplays explore the political and economic struggles of working-class Northern England, particularly in his native West Riding / South Yorkshire.
He is best known for the novel A Kestrel for a Knave (1968), which he helped adapt for Ken Loach's film Kes (1969). He also collaborated with Loach on adaptations of his novels Looks and Smiles (1981) and The Gamekeeper, and a 1977 two-part television drama adaption of his book The Price of Coal.
He also wrote the television film Threads, which depicts the impact of a nuclear war on Sheffield.
He is best known for the novel A Kestrel for a Knave (1968), which he helped adapt for Ken Loach's film Kes (1969). He also collaborated with Loach on adaptations of his novels Looks and Smiles (1981) and The Gamekeeper, and a 1977 two-part television drama adaption of his book The Price of Coal.
He also wrote the television film Threads, which depicts the impact of a nuclear war on Sheffield.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 721 reviews
September 2, 2025
When I was a child I used to live in a large city in the North of England. One day I was told that my brother, whom I idolised but who had moved to the bright lights of London, was going to pay us a flying visit. Apparently there was a new film which he wanted to see, and it was to be premièred - unusually - in the North. The film was "Kes".
I was pleased, but a little puzzled, when he took me along with him to one of the biggest cinemas in the middle of the city. I was then disappointed to find at the start of the film that it was filmed in black and white; this being unheard of at the time for a new film. I was even more surprised to hear that the characters on the screen talked just like I did - only more so. They sounded, as my family would have called them, "rough". As the film went on I met Billy Casper, the main character in the film who was just a couple of years older than me. He was cheeky, dirty, he lied and talked back to his elders, he thieved things, he skived off and ran all over the place. I came from a family who were hard-up but honest and proud. I didn't admire or envy Billy at all. But ...
He had a hawk. And the hawk was beautiful; wild and free. And she trusted Billy. She flew for Billy, and Billy alone. I sat up.
Many years later I have now read the book on which "Kes" was based, A Kestrel for a Knave, by Barry Hines. And I realise how brave and unique an achievement it was. Barry Hines can write. And he wrote here about his own childhood, for he too was born in a small mining village near the town of Barnsley in Yorkshire, in 1939. Nobody expected him to amount to much. He was a promising footballer, and became a PE teacher first in London and later in Yorkshire. During his spare time he wrote this startling book, which was published in 1968 and became an immediate success. This allowed him to write full time, and go on to write nine more novels, as well as straightaway co-writing the screenplay of "Kes" with Ken Loach. As a child he had had a pet hawk.
The portrayal of Billy is searingly honest and raw. He doesn't have a chance. The whole world seems to be against him. Billy is living in a back-to-back with a care-worn Mum who hardly notices he's there, and an older brother (from a different father) who is already embittered with his lot in life, and grimly determined to make life just as miserable as he can for Billy. He is usually cold, dirty and hungry. The novel starts with Billy and his brother waking up (they have to share a bed) on a cold winter's morning. All these domestic episodes, and the episodes at school, are both funny and pathetic. They are a perfect embodiment of the stoic Northern working-class attitude, "If you didn't laugh you'd cry."
At every step of the way Billy's chances are thwarted. He is despised by his classmates and bullied unmercifully by his PE teacher, who has delusions of grandeur. He has no friends, and can't even do simple things like joining a public library, because nobody will speak up for him. He is one of society's castoffs. Yet he tries to make a success of things. He has a paper round to earn enough money to feed the wild creatures he rears and loves so much, and occasionally shopkeepers take pity on him and give him a few scraps. He is misread at every stage. Perhaps the careers officer could have helped. By this time Billy has gained an enormous knowledge of wildlife, but all anyone can see is that he is destined to go down t'pit.
He has one rare friend, a teacher who sees his potential, and like the reader, is staggered by how much he has achieved against all the odds. But we know it cannot end well. The teacher has little power, and probably little conception of Billy's problems, or just how precious, fragile and hard-earned is his experience with the hawk. Even Billy himself appreciates that "Sir" cannot really understand. The teacher quickly drifts out of the novel, and out of Billy's world.
The book is beautifully written. The events are described candidly, with a great sense of authenticity and much humour and pathos. Some of the dialogue is in dialect, and whereas I personally have no problem with, "Gee-o'er!" I can see that other readers may have to internally translate this as "Give over" - and again as "Stop doing that!" But mostly I would say that the dialogue's meanings are obvious from the context.
The descriptions gave me pause. For this is a world which has gone. At the time the novel was published it was notable for its description of social problems, situations and inequalities. Now however, in retrospect, the reader can see that it is a snapshot of a world which has partly disappeared. We still have the deprivation, the poverty, the inequality. But today's equivalents of Billy will be living on an estate with no access to the countryside, and probably little freedom to explore as he did. Only a few years later the high-rise flats would spring up all over. A few years after that, when vandalism and burglary were on the increase, the realisation came that these structures were not a solution to poverty. All the planners had done, was to destroy any sense of community, and consequently much of the self-identity of those who had been forcibly moved there. But even when most of the highrises had been torn down, the countryside was never to return.
"A cushion of mist lay over the fields. Dew drenched the grass, and the occasional sparkling of individual drops made Billy glance down as he passed. One tuft was a silver fire. The drop had almost forced the blade of grass to the earth, and it lay in the curve of the blade like the tiny egg of a mythical bird. Billy moved his head from side to side to make it sparkle, and when it caught the sun it exploded ..."
Billy walks for miles. He observes Nature in a way urban children now will never know. He has an escape which they can never imagine. For of course, the novel is packed with metaphor. Billy's life equals prison. The natural world represents something better; something soaring and free, a bit of magic. When he wanders, different locations are described; the neglected areas full of litter, the neat little houses, each with their tiny square of lawn proudly maintained by their owners. When Billy writes an essay at school, he heart-rendingly describes an interior of such a house he has glimpsed on his paper round. He yearns for such comfort. He even at one tragic stage runs to his mother for a hug, but there is none forthcoming. She is merely embarrassed.
Reading the detailed descriptions of Nature seen through Billy's eyes, the accounts of how he trained his hawk through his own blood, sweat and tears, made me realise that this is something we have lost. The world is now totally different. The poverty and deprivation which exists now is not always due to money. Barry Hines cannot have known that not only was he writing a book which would be a classic of social realism, but also a depiction of a microcosm which was about to crumble. There is an added poignancy.
You will weep for all the Billy Caspers of this world. Little scraps of humanity whom nobody cares about. Cast aside, neglected and unloved, bullied; they have to make their own way through life as best they can. Hope sometimes sparks in them for something better. Perhaps sometimes their determination wins through, as did that of the author. We would say that he "dragged himself up by his bootstraps". But it is all too easy to sink into the mire of lethargy.
Is that what would happen to Billy Caspar? I defy you to read this book without getting a big lump in your throat.
"..there's Billy Casper there wi' his pet hawk." I could shout at 'em: it's not a pet, Sir, hawks are not pets. Or when folks stop me and say "Is it tame?" Is it heck tame, it's trained that's all. It's fierce an' it's wild, an' it's not bothered about anybody, not even about me, right. And that's why it's great ... They can keep their rabbits an' their cats an' their talkin' budgies, they're rubbish compared wi' her."
I was pleased, but a little puzzled, when he took me along with him to one of the biggest cinemas in the middle of the city. I was then disappointed to find at the start of the film that it was filmed in black and white; this being unheard of at the time for a new film. I was even more surprised to hear that the characters on the screen talked just like I did - only more so. They sounded, as my family would have called them, "rough". As the film went on I met Billy Casper, the main character in the film who was just a couple of years older than me. He was cheeky, dirty, he lied and talked back to his elders, he thieved things, he skived off and ran all over the place. I came from a family who were hard-up but honest and proud. I didn't admire or envy Billy at all. But ...
He had a hawk. And the hawk was beautiful; wild and free. And she trusted Billy. She flew for Billy, and Billy alone. I sat up.
Many years later I have now read the book on which "Kes" was based, A Kestrel for a Knave, by Barry Hines. And I realise how brave and unique an achievement it was. Barry Hines can write. And he wrote here about his own childhood, for he too was born in a small mining village near the town of Barnsley in Yorkshire, in 1939. Nobody expected him to amount to much. He was a promising footballer, and became a PE teacher first in London and later in Yorkshire. During his spare time he wrote this startling book, which was published in 1968 and became an immediate success. This allowed him to write full time, and go on to write nine more novels, as well as straightaway co-writing the screenplay of "Kes" with Ken Loach. As a child he had had a pet hawk.
The portrayal of Billy is searingly honest and raw. He doesn't have a chance. The whole world seems to be against him. Billy is living in a back-to-back with a care-worn Mum who hardly notices he's there, and an older brother (from a different father) who is already embittered with his lot in life, and grimly determined to make life just as miserable as he can for Billy. He is usually cold, dirty and hungry. The novel starts with Billy and his brother waking up (they have to share a bed) on a cold winter's morning. All these domestic episodes, and the episodes at school, are both funny and pathetic. They are a perfect embodiment of the stoic Northern working-class attitude, "If you didn't laugh you'd cry."
At every step of the way Billy's chances are thwarted. He is despised by his classmates and bullied unmercifully by his PE teacher, who has delusions of grandeur. He has no friends, and can't even do simple things like joining a public library, because nobody will speak up for him. He is one of society's castoffs. Yet he tries to make a success of things. He has a paper round to earn enough money to feed the wild creatures he rears and loves so much, and occasionally shopkeepers take pity on him and give him a few scraps. He is misread at every stage. Perhaps the careers officer could have helped. By this time Billy has gained an enormous knowledge of wildlife, but all anyone can see is that he is destined to go down t'pit.
He has one rare friend, a teacher who sees his potential, and like the reader, is staggered by how much he has achieved against all the odds. But we know it cannot end well. The teacher has little power, and probably little conception of Billy's problems, or just how precious, fragile and hard-earned is his experience with the hawk. Even Billy himself appreciates that "Sir" cannot really understand. The teacher quickly drifts out of the novel, and out of Billy's world.
The book is beautifully written. The events are described candidly, with a great sense of authenticity and much humour and pathos. Some of the dialogue is in dialect, and whereas I personally have no problem with, "Gee-o'er!" I can see that other readers may have to internally translate this as "Give over" - and again as "Stop doing that!" But mostly I would say that the dialogue's meanings are obvious from the context.
The descriptions gave me pause. For this is a world which has gone. At the time the novel was published it was notable for its description of social problems, situations and inequalities. Now however, in retrospect, the reader can see that it is a snapshot of a world which has partly disappeared. We still have the deprivation, the poverty, the inequality. But today's equivalents of Billy will be living on an estate with no access to the countryside, and probably little freedom to explore as he did. Only a few years later the high-rise flats would spring up all over. A few years after that, when vandalism and burglary were on the increase, the realisation came that these structures were not a solution to poverty. All the planners had done, was to destroy any sense of community, and consequently much of the self-identity of those who had been forcibly moved there. But even when most of the highrises had been torn down, the countryside was never to return.
"A cushion of mist lay over the fields. Dew drenched the grass, and the occasional sparkling of individual drops made Billy glance down as he passed. One tuft was a silver fire. The drop had almost forced the blade of grass to the earth, and it lay in the curve of the blade like the tiny egg of a mythical bird. Billy moved his head from side to side to make it sparkle, and when it caught the sun it exploded ..."
Billy walks for miles. He observes Nature in a way urban children now will never know. He has an escape which they can never imagine. For of course, the novel is packed with metaphor. Billy's life equals prison. The natural world represents something better; something soaring and free, a bit of magic. When he wanders, different locations are described; the neglected areas full of litter, the neat little houses, each with their tiny square of lawn proudly maintained by their owners. When Billy writes an essay at school, he heart-rendingly describes an interior of such a house he has glimpsed on his paper round. He yearns for such comfort. He even at one tragic stage runs to his mother for a hug, but there is none forthcoming. She is merely embarrassed.
Reading the detailed descriptions of Nature seen through Billy's eyes, the accounts of how he trained his hawk through his own blood, sweat and tears, made me realise that this is something we have lost. The world is now totally different. The poverty and deprivation which exists now is not always due to money. Barry Hines cannot have known that not only was he writing a book which would be a classic of social realism, but also a depiction of a microcosm which was about to crumble. There is an added poignancy.
You will weep for all the Billy Caspers of this world. Little scraps of humanity whom nobody cares about. Cast aside, neglected and unloved, bullied; they have to make their own way through life as best they can. Hope sometimes sparks in them for something better. Perhaps sometimes their determination wins through, as did that of the author. We would say that he "dragged himself up by his bootstraps". But it is all too easy to sink into the mire of lethargy.
Is that what would happen to Billy Caspar? I defy you to read this book without getting a big lump in your throat.
"..there's Billy Casper there wi' his pet hawk." I could shout at 'em: it's not a pet, Sir, hawks are not pets. Or when folks stop me and say "Is it tame?" Is it heck tame, it's trained that's all. It's fierce an' it's wild, an' it's not bothered about anybody, not even about me, right. And that's why it's great ... They can keep their rabbits an' their cats an' their talkin' budgies, they're rubbish compared wi' her."
September 27, 2023
There is a scene roughly midway through this when poor scrawny Billy is bullied by his PE teacher into having a shower after sports. This was the 60s and the same thing was happening when I was at secondary school in the late 80s/early 90s. Teachers then could be damn right cruel. Nowadays a teacher wouldn't dare do such a thing in fear of being verbally abused back, sued for causing mental distress, or being attacked outside the school gates while a mob of kids film the incident on their smartphones. Five minutes later it's on YouTube. How times have changed. One thing that hasn't though is single parent kids with a completely inept mother or father and with little or no friends to at least talk to. Where is the love? No wonder Billy felt closer affection towards a bird of prey. A kestrel wouldn't keep pestering him about nipping down the shops to get fags and not even saying thanks for one thing. Nor would it whack him first thing in the morning before he has even got out of bed (the mean older brother). I'd already seen Ken Loach's 1969 film adaptation on a few occasions, so I knew all about the sad ending, but in no way did it ruin the book for me. While it is bleak and shows how those north of England working-class towns like Barnsley got left behind financially (even now with these Tories who seem to think anywhere above the midlands doesn't exist) the novel is still one of hope, and, even quite funny in places too. One thing that Hines does to compensate for some of it's depressing scenes is take advantage of the beautiful English countryside. He dazzles with a rich and natural imagery that feels very much like a love letter to nature. Billy, who generally fends for himself, and is wrongly seen as a troublesome kid without much intelligence, proudly illuminates his class, and teacher, by giving a knowledgeable talk about falconry and his attachment to Kes. This was one of those scenes where you just feel like cheering on the character - that one bright moment of him suddenly feeling something deep down inside, some importance after receiving praise - who would dash home straight after school to the garden shed to be with his friend, rather than walk through the back door first and say "Hi mum, I'm home."
November 14, 2012
Ok, so I simply don't understand some people. Now I'm adding 'people who have given kestrel for a knave fewer than four star reviews' to the list of people I don't understand. They seem to be missing the point. So the book, I would not advise anyone looking for a comfortable reading experience to pick this one up, it is uncomfortable from the start. The life it describes is bleak and heartbreakingly deprived. Billy Casper quite literally has nothing, his brother (with whom he has to share a bed) is a violent brutal drunk, his mother has a reputation as the local bike and zero maternal instinct. It appears that Billy's father gave attention and even love but that came to an end when he caught Billy's mother with 'Uncle Mick' and he is now out of the picture. Billy has turned his back on the gang he used to hang out with, so is left with no real friends, he does poorly at school and it seems that all but one of his teachers have given up on him. He seems destined to have to go to work in the local pit, alongside his brute of a brother. The one thing he does have is a way with animals, something he has used to train a hawk. Everyone knows that this one light in his life will be snuffed out, but it is the whole story which is heartwrenching. Using local dialect throughout brings the characters to life, while the lyrical descriptions of the countryside and of the falconry contrast with the brutal surroundings of the town and estate. This is stark social realism. The scene in the showers following a lost football match are among the most disturbing that I have ever read, and the indifference shown by Billy's mother over the fate of his beloved Kes encapsulates the indifference Billy meets everywhere. For me it was Billy's tall story which really brought a lump to my throat. The ending is terribly inconclusive but we can see how things will continue for this child with little or no chance of escape.
September 11, 2017
A wonderfully raw picture of Northern life. It's bleak and gritty, and written extremely well. Billy Casper is one of life's underdogs, he bears the brunt of everyone's exasperation with their own lives. This includes his bullying brother, his selfish mother, his fellow pupils at school and most of the teachers. He lives for his hawk and Kes is a metaphor for how free he wishes he were. It's a marvellous book and I couldn't recommend it more. It makes me proud to hail from South Yorkshire.
August 11, 2020
One might glance at this book and judge it to be a light, kid’s book. It isn’t. It does not end with a cute, sweet, happy ending. Mature, older kids, in situations similar to the central character’s, might benefit by reading this book; they would realize they are not alone. Adults are, nevertheless, its primary audience. The author states this in the introduction. In the audiobook this is placed at the book’s end. I appreciate this placement. I say, go into a book with a clean slate and see how it affects you. It is less important to know how you should be thinking and feeling than how a book does make you feel and think.
The book moved me. It gripped me emotionally. It makes another’s existence feel as if it were your own. This is why I recommend it. Secondly it has an important message. Thirdly it is realistic--real life is not tidied up. Finally, elements of good balance the bad.
The story draws the life of a fifteen-year-old living in a small mining town in Yorkshire, northern England. Billy Casper lives in a housing settlement for the poor. In England, such areas are referred to as estates. Billy is bullied at school. Teachers are physically and mentally abusive. Academically he is failing. His father has left home, his mother has affairs with other men, he and his older brother constantly bicker and feud. The house is a shamble, and often he has no food. Not even a glass of milk for breakfast. Is it so strange that he nicks some chocolate? Life can scarcely get much worse for Billy. How does he respond? He fights, he curses, he steals. He falls asleep in class. He has no support from anyone and so he is forced to grip after any possible way to survive. Billy is a survivor and you admire him for this. Given the circumstances, one can scarcely criticize his behavior. You are put there in his shoes. You empathize.
The power of this book lies in its ability to open a reader’s eyes to the real situation of young people living in poor and instabile family situations. If people are made aware, if a reader is emotionally moved from indifference to caring, necessary institutional improvements might be brought about. This message is however NOT forced upon a reader. You are free to draw whatever conclusion you wish.
There are moments that give a reader and Billy escape from the drudgery of daily existence. Billy comes to train a kestrel. The glory of the bird in flight and the tight bond between the boy and his beloved Kes is wonderfully told. The reader needs these passages as much as Billy does.
Dialogues are written in dialect. This does not make it easier to understand what is said, but it does further envelope the reader in Billy’s world. The harsh reality of everyday life is in this way drawn more accurately. The use of dialect gives the reader a fuller understanding of how Billy’s life really is. What is said by his mother, his brother, his classmates and some of his teachers are excruciatingly cruel. You cringe. What happens is laid on top of the mean things said. You also come to understand why Billy lashes out at those around him. In my view, the use of dialect is a plus. Understanding every expression or word is less important; you always understand the intent, if not the meaning of a specific word.
The book has a message which I think is noteworthy--good teachers, caring and concerned teachers, can make a huge difference in helping troubled students. Their guidance and encouragement can be of life-changing importance. The value of such teachers should never be downplayed. They need to be supported by school organization, management and administration.
The audiobook is narrated by Gareth Bennett Ryan very well. He pulls off well the dialect. I wouldn’t have it read any other way. The narration I have given four stars.
First published in 1968, the book is considered a British classic, and rightfully so.
************************
Here follows a similar book that I also recommend:
*Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir by Chris Packham 5 stars
The book moved me. It gripped me emotionally. It makes another’s existence feel as if it were your own. This is why I recommend it. Secondly it has an important message. Thirdly it is realistic--real life is not tidied up. Finally, elements of good balance the bad.
The story draws the life of a fifteen-year-old living in a small mining town in Yorkshire, northern England. Billy Casper lives in a housing settlement for the poor. In England, such areas are referred to as estates. Billy is bullied at school. Teachers are physically and mentally abusive. Academically he is failing. His father has left home, his mother has affairs with other men, he and his older brother constantly bicker and feud. The house is a shamble, and often he has no food. Not even a glass of milk for breakfast. Is it so strange that he nicks some chocolate? Life can scarcely get much worse for Billy. How does he respond? He fights, he curses, he steals. He falls asleep in class. He has no support from anyone and so he is forced to grip after any possible way to survive. Billy is a survivor and you admire him for this. Given the circumstances, one can scarcely criticize his behavior. You are put there in his shoes. You empathize.
The power of this book lies in its ability to open a reader’s eyes to the real situation of young people living in poor and instabile family situations. If people are made aware, if a reader is emotionally moved from indifference to caring, necessary institutional improvements might be brought about. This message is however NOT forced upon a reader. You are free to draw whatever conclusion you wish.
There are moments that give a reader and Billy escape from the drudgery of daily existence. Billy comes to train a kestrel. The glory of the bird in flight and the tight bond between the boy and his beloved Kes is wonderfully told. The reader needs these passages as much as Billy does.
Dialogues are written in dialect. This does not make it easier to understand what is said, but it does further envelope the reader in Billy’s world. The harsh reality of everyday life is in this way drawn more accurately. The use of dialect gives the reader a fuller understanding of how Billy’s life really is. What is said by his mother, his brother, his classmates and some of his teachers are excruciatingly cruel. You cringe. What happens is laid on top of the mean things said. You also come to understand why Billy lashes out at those around him. In my view, the use of dialect is a plus. Understanding every expression or word is less important; you always understand the intent, if not the meaning of a specific word.
The book has a message which I think is noteworthy--good teachers, caring and concerned teachers, can make a huge difference in helping troubled students. Their guidance and encouragement can be of life-changing importance. The value of such teachers should never be downplayed. They need to be supported by school organization, management and administration.
The audiobook is narrated by Gareth Bennett Ryan very well. He pulls off well the dialect. I wouldn’t have it read any other way. The narration I have given four stars.
First published in 1968, the book is considered a British classic, and rightfully so.
************************
Here follows a similar book that I also recommend:
*Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir by Chris Packham 5 stars
October 1, 2017
A slim volume outlining the life of a young lad in the North of England in the 60s. A tale of gritty realism.
Billy Caspar is bullied at home and at school. He lives on a rough council estate with his mother and brother, his father having walked out long ago. A succession of "Uncles" flit through his and his mothers life. Money is very tight, and occasional petty thievery is one way of getting by. Billy is disinterested in school and the teachers have essentially written him off as pit fodder (England still had a coal industry at the time).
Ill at ease with people, understandably distrusting of his family and school peers, Billy has a natural affinity with nature. He finds and trains a kestrel chick, showing great intelligence, skill and patience. The kestrel soon becomes the anchor of his life, sole consoler amongst the rebukes and slaps and daily humiliations resulting from being small, poor and awkward in a tough arena.
Billy's story is told by Barry Hines with charm and affection, without it being sugar coated. There are episodes of humour bringing sharp relief to the generally bleak tone of a life on the way to being wasted. Sad but life affirming in a "bollocks to the world" kind of way.
Billy deserves his place in the Northern cultural pantheon with the likes of Morrissey, Mark E Smith, Les Dawson, Cissie and Ada, Nora Batty, Barnstoneworth United, Wallace and Gromit, Jim Royle, Paul and Pauline Calf et al.
Read for the second time at an interval of forty years. I had forgotten just how good this book is so it was a welcome re-read.
Well worth a read. I believe the film is good too.
Billy Caspar is bullied at home and at school. He lives on a rough council estate with his mother and brother, his father having walked out long ago. A succession of "Uncles" flit through his and his mothers life. Money is very tight, and occasional petty thievery is one way of getting by. Billy is disinterested in school and the teachers have essentially written him off as pit fodder (England still had a coal industry at the time).
Ill at ease with people, understandably distrusting of his family and school peers, Billy has a natural affinity with nature. He finds and trains a kestrel chick, showing great intelligence, skill and patience. The kestrel soon becomes the anchor of his life, sole consoler amongst the rebukes and slaps and daily humiliations resulting from being small, poor and awkward in a tough arena.
Billy's story is told by Barry Hines with charm and affection, without it being sugar coated. There are episodes of humour bringing sharp relief to the generally bleak tone of a life on the way to being wasted. Sad but life affirming in a "bollocks to the world" kind of way.
Billy deserves his place in the Northern cultural pantheon with the likes of Morrissey, Mark E Smith, Les Dawson, Cissie and Ada, Nora Batty, Barnstoneworth United, Wallace and Gromit, Jim Royle, Paul and Pauline Calf et al.
Read for the second time at an interval of forty years. I had forgotten just how good this book is so it was a welcome re-read.
Well worth a read. I believe the film is good too.
June 7, 2018
What a brilliant book this is! There are at times I didn’t comprehend the flow of story but at other times “recalling the past” was all too obvious. Now that I put the pieces together what I am left with is a compelling story in which a Kestrel served as a ray of hope in the life of a helplessly knavish boy.
May 14, 2019
Sharp as a knife, the language in this book about a tough boy and the love for his bird. Works wonderfully well.
May 24, 2018
I read this as part of my English Literature GCSE over 15 years ago (!) and I think our class picked this over the other options because it was the shortest. And we got to watch the film after reading it.
At the time I found it quite interesting, as it’s set in the North of England and depicted a level of poverty I’d seen first hand (although perhaps not in such a prolific way as Billy himself is described as being in). It’s a lovely and ultimately sad story of a lonely boy and his friendship with a kestrel. This kestrel represents the only outlet Billy has from a bleak and depressing future, and documents the bittersweet moments they share together interspersed with Billy’s final months at school. It’s depressing, yes, but there are moments of clarity for Billy when he’s watching Kes fly that brings some signs of optimism and hope.
I should probably reread this as some point to gain a new insight as an adult rather than as a 16 year old school girl.
At the time I found it quite interesting, as it’s set in the North of England and depicted a level of poverty I’d seen first hand (although perhaps not in such a prolific way as Billy himself is described as being in). It’s a lovely and ultimately sad story of a lonely boy and his friendship with a kestrel. This kestrel represents the only outlet Billy has from a bleak and depressing future, and documents the bittersweet moments they share together interspersed with Billy’s final months at school. It’s depressing, yes, but there are moments of clarity for Billy when he’s watching Kes fly that brings some signs of optimism and hope.
I should probably reread this as some point to gain a new insight as an adult rather than as a 16 year old school girl.
May 6, 2021
Esta lectura me resulto algo extraña, huérfana, desamparada, en fin no todos los libros apasionan de la misma manera, me pareció una historia sin final, es como si el libro no hubiera culminado.
Esta es la historia de un jovencito de quince años llamado Billy, que sin proyectarlo acaba entrometido en todos los líos del colegio y fuera de él, la cosa anda de un modo muy parecido, a veces pasan cosas de este estilo que no tienen explicación, pueden ser las compañías o el trata que reciben de las personas que están a su alrededor.
Billy no es un joven que tenga mal corazón, pero la gente tiene tendencia a meterse con él, arrojarle las culpas de acontecimientos que él no provoca, debido a todo este que le pasa, tiene la necesidad de querer estar solo, evadirse de los demás, perderse entres bosques, montes, terrenos que sabe que va a estar solo, en esos parajes buscando la soledad, aparece Kes el halcón que logra que el mire la vida de otro modo, con pasión.
Lo bueno que encontré entre estas páginas es que una persona que no le atraiga leer libros, de repente le interese algún tema en este caso el mundo de la cetrería y comience a devorar libros, gracias a los conocimientos tras la lecturas de varios libros, consigue adiestrar a Kes, un misterioso e inteligente halcón, que hasta parece que le escucha cuando el jovencito le habla.
Otra de las esencias que me gustaron de esta lectura, es que uno puede encontrar la amistad en los sititos menos aguardados, estimo que una de las amistades más bonitas es la que nace de las persona con los animales.
Me cautivaron mucho los detalles en estas páginas de todo este mundo de la cetrería, es algo extraordinario este mundo del proceso de adiestramiento de los halcones, lo que se consigue es verdadero arte, pero me supo a poco, pensé que la novela describiría más extensamente sobre esta cuestión, imagine que la pasión entre Kes y Billy recorrería más, pero no fue así.
La novela es más desahogada en las desaventuras e infelicidades que le pasan a Billy en el colegio, con su madre, con el insensible de su hermano Jud, se ausenta de lo que en verdad describe la sinopsis de este libro.
Sin embargo decir que no estuvo del todo mal la lectura, porque de todos los libros se sale aprendiendo algo.
Una lectura con esencia a algo que pudo ser, pero no fue.
Posdata: Pero nunca olvidéis que la historia que cuenta un libro no siempre es igual.
Esta es la historia de un jovencito de quince años llamado Billy, que sin proyectarlo acaba entrometido en todos los líos del colegio y fuera de él, la cosa anda de un modo muy parecido, a veces pasan cosas de este estilo que no tienen explicación, pueden ser las compañías o el trata que reciben de las personas que están a su alrededor.
Billy no es un joven que tenga mal corazón, pero la gente tiene tendencia a meterse con él, arrojarle las culpas de acontecimientos que él no provoca, debido a todo este que le pasa, tiene la necesidad de querer estar solo, evadirse de los demás, perderse entres bosques, montes, terrenos que sabe que va a estar solo, en esos parajes buscando la soledad, aparece Kes el halcón que logra que el mire la vida de otro modo, con pasión.
Lo bueno que encontré entre estas páginas es que una persona que no le atraiga leer libros, de repente le interese algún tema en este caso el mundo de la cetrería y comience a devorar libros, gracias a los conocimientos tras la lecturas de varios libros, consigue adiestrar a Kes, un misterioso e inteligente halcón, que hasta parece que le escucha cuando el jovencito le habla.
Otra de las esencias que me gustaron de esta lectura, es que uno puede encontrar la amistad en los sititos menos aguardados, estimo que una de las amistades más bonitas es la que nace de las persona con los animales.
Me cautivaron mucho los detalles en estas páginas de todo este mundo de la cetrería, es algo extraordinario este mundo del proceso de adiestramiento de los halcones, lo que se consigue es verdadero arte, pero me supo a poco, pensé que la novela describiría más extensamente sobre esta cuestión, imagine que la pasión entre Kes y Billy recorrería más, pero no fue así.
La novela es más desahogada en las desaventuras e infelicidades que le pasan a Billy en el colegio, con su madre, con el insensible de su hermano Jud, se ausenta de lo que en verdad describe la sinopsis de este libro.
Sin embargo decir que no estuvo del todo mal la lectura, porque de todos los libros se sale aprendiendo algo.
Una lectura con esencia a algo que pudo ser, pero no fue.
Posdata: Pero nunca olvidéis que la historia que cuenta un libro no siempre es igual.
June 1, 2023
A brutal story about a teen named Billy Casper who is growing up in a Yorkshire mining town. The hopelessness of his life is contrasted with the beauty of the surrounding landscape. Billy is small for his age and is often picked on by his older brother, classmates and even his teachers. He's been in trouble with the law but is trying to do better by not hanging with that crowd any longer. Billy's dad left after finding the mother in a compromising situation with 'Uncle Mick' and there's been a series of such men since. She is self-involved and seems oblivious to the needs of her sons.
After spotting a nest of kestrels, Billy gets the idea to catch and train one but first he needs to learn how to do that. After being turned away from the local library, he steals a book from the bookstore and puts his plan in motion. He's actually quite good at it and the hawk becomes the one bright spot in his life.
The story was published in 1968 but the bullying Billy endures could be ripped from current headlines. The late Barry Hines was a playwright and screenwriter and one can see that influence in this novel.
After spotting a nest of kestrels, Billy gets the idea to catch and train one but first he needs to learn how to do that. After being turned away from the local library, he steals a book from the bookstore and puts his plan in motion. He's actually quite good at it and the hawk becomes the one bright spot in his life.
The story was published in 1968 but the bullying Billy endures could be ripped from current headlines. The late Barry Hines was a playwright and screenwriter and one can see that influence in this novel.
July 31, 2018
I read this book many years ago and really enjoyed reading this book.
There is also a film of this book and I thought it made very compelling viewing and was just as good as the book.
There is also a film of this book and I thought it made very compelling viewing and was just as good as the book.
June 19, 2011
It took me 40p to get truely involved in this story - approx. 1/4 of the book. That quarter sets the background for what is to come in the remainder, when the protagonist, Billy, goes to school and one day shows the hilarity, banality, hopelessness and tragedy that surely will be a microcosm of Billy's whole life.
For me, school was not nearly so grim as for Billy, but I could relate strongly to his experience; casual cruelty (from teachers), injustice, bullying, that one teacher who is still capable of seeing pupils as human beings, fighting a losing battle against the indifference of all the others. Best days of our lives? I always thought that was some kind of sick joke. I was never so glad as to be out of that environment. Billy is 15 and will shortly be out of it, too. He doesn't have the fun and excitement of University and myriad possibilities afterward to look forward to, though. He's not that bright and there aren't many options. All he really knows is that he doesn't want to go down the pit. A mine that twenty years later would probably be closed, like almost every other in Britain, leaving him almost middle aged with no useful skills, not that he or the author would have known that. Since his father left home, his mother is going through the motions of raising him, more interested in her affairs, his brother hates him and there's little money. About the only thing Billy has of any value, and that to him alone, is the kestrel he trained himself. Is that enough?
Powerful, simple writing carries this story of working class northern Britain in the 1960s to an end likely to induce despair.
For me, school was not nearly so grim as for Billy, but I could relate strongly to his experience; casual cruelty (from teachers), injustice, bullying, that one teacher who is still capable of seeing pupils as human beings, fighting a losing battle against the indifference of all the others. Best days of our lives? I always thought that was some kind of sick joke. I was never so glad as to be out of that environment. Billy is 15 and will shortly be out of it, too. He doesn't have the fun and excitement of University and myriad possibilities afterward to look forward to, though. He's not that bright and there aren't many options. All he really knows is that he doesn't want to go down the pit. A mine that twenty years later would probably be closed, like almost every other in Britain, leaving him almost middle aged with no useful skills, not that he or the author would have known that. Since his father left home, his mother is going through the motions of raising him, more interested in her affairs, his brother hates him and there's little money. About the only thing Billy has of any value, and that to him alone, is the kestrel he trained himself. Is that enough?
Powerful, simple writing carries this story of working class northern Britain in the 1960s to an end likely to induce despair.
July 8, 2018
Although I haven’t seen the film Kes, I can well understand how the book would lend itself to film. The story line is simple and, alas, predictable. It wasn’t an easy read for me for reasons I’ll try to explain. Stylistically I found it hard – nothing to do with Yorkshire dialect, I grew up in Yorks. It was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It may be mental tiredness on my part, coupled with a touch of heat stroke perhaps, (being a wimpy Brit) which buggered up my concentration.
A more identifiable cause of pain to me - this is meant as praise, rather than negative criticism – was the fact that it evoked memories for me of childhood and adolescence which I now realise are still quite raw. Who says school days are the happiest days of your life?! Mine weren’t and neither, I suspect, were Billy’s (our central character). It helped me to contextualise the nasty historical child abuse cases which are only now hitting the headlines. I’d like to think that life was different then, a time when “Might (was) Right”. Might can only be right, possibly, where it is accompanied by a mental strength which can discern between right and wrong. Otherwise, we have the culture of the bully, generally a loathsome coward. Where these bullies are in charge of vulnerable children, abuse will inevitably follow – emotional, psychological, physical and worse. Such a system is complicit in creating the predator, the pervert, call them what you will. They will be the bullies of the future.
Anyway, despite the pain, I am pleased to have read it and recommend it to you.
A more identifiable cause of pain to me - this is meant as praise, rather than negative criticism – was the fact that it evoked memories for me of childhood and adolescence which I now realise are still quite raw. Who says school days are the happiest days of your life?! Mine weren’t and neither, I suspect, were Billy’s (our central character). It helped me to contextualise the nasty historical child abuse cases which are only now hitting the headlines. I’d like to think that life was different then, a time when “Might (was) Right”. Might can only be right, possibly, where it is accompanied by a mental strength which can discern between right and wrong. Otherwise, we have the culture of the bully, generally a loathsome coward. Where these bullies are in charge of vulnerable children, abuse will inevitably follow – emotional, psychological, physical and worse. Such a system is complicit in creating the predator, the pervert, call them what you will. They will be the bullies of the future.
Anyway, despite the pain, I am pleased to have read it and recommend it to you.
August 6, 2020
A short but powerful read. Fourteen year old Billy Casper is bullied at school and lives with his uncaring mother and older equally uncaring brother. He suddenly finds something to live for when he finds a young Kestrel.
April 6, 2018
3.5 stars
Such a sad little book that makes you clench your fists because of all the unfairness in the world. Portraying a very unfortunate boy from English working class, it made me think about Polish positivist novelettes, although this one seemed less sentimental and more moving for me, with message clear but not approaching you and punching in the face. Or maybe I’m older now and more sensitive to children’s misery?
I loved the awful portrayal of Billy’s school because although on the surface today’s reader may shrug and with the air of superiority state that it’s thankfully a thing of the past, the portraits of the teachers and of many ridiculous rules stay the same, years after years, I can see them in the schools from the present time, better camouflaged but alive and kicking. It is suffocating and made me tear up more than once while reading. Such situations shouldn’t happen but they did and they do.
In all that, the moments when all humanity was far away and there was only Billy and his kestrel (or possibly anyone who cared, which…) – it felt like freedom, like something clean and good, finally, appeared in the world. It was written in a simple language but there is power in this simplicity. Once in a while I love reading such books and it hasn’t disappointed me in the slightest.
Such a sad little book that makes you clench your fists because of all the unfairness in the world. Portraying a very unfortunate boy from English working class, it made me think about Polish positivist novelettes, although this one seemed less sentimental and more moving for me, with message clear but not approaching you and punching in the face. Or maybe I’m older now and more sensitive to children’s misery?
I loved the awful portrayal of Billy’s school because although on the surface today’s reader may shrug and with the air of superiority state that it’s thankfully a thing of the past, the portraits of the teachers and of many ridiculous rules stay the same, years after years, I can see them in the schools from the present time, better camouflaged but alive and kicking. It is suffocating and made me tear up more than once while reading. Such situations shouldn’t happen but they did and they do.
In all that, the moments when all humanity was far away and there was only Billy and his kestrel (or possibly anyone who cared, which…) – it felt like freedom, like something clean and good, finally, appeared in the world. It was written in a simple language but there is power in this simplicity. Once in a while I love reading such books and it hasn’t disappointed me in the slightest.
May 2, 2024
Bu ay arka arkaya hüzünlü kitaplar okuyorum resmen.
Kerkenez, babası evi terk etmiş, abisinin ve okul arkadaşlarının zorbalıklarına maruz kalan, ilgisiz bir anneyle yaşamaya çalışan Billy Casper'in yaşamından kısacık bir kesit. Hayvanlara oldukça meraklı olan Billy bir gün, romana da ismini veren bir kerkenez yavrusu buluyor ve onu eğitiyor. Hayatındaki en değerli şey o kerkenez olurken biz de Billy'nin öğretmenleriyle, abisiyle olan ilişkisine, okulda geçen günlerine tanıklık ediyoruz. Yalnız ve zor geçen bir çocukluğun ajitasyona düşmeyen, gerçekçi bir hikayesi Kerkenez. Bana Ratcatcher filmini hatırlattı. Kerkenez'in de sinemaya uyarlanmış olması o nedenle hiç şaşırtıcı değil. Son sözde yazarın Ken Loach tarafından sinemaya uyarlanmış halini oldukça beğendiğini de öğreniyoruz. Ben de en kısa zamanda filmi izleyeceğim. İçimden bir ses ağlayacaksın Yaprak diyor ama hayırlısı. Modern klasiklerden biri hâline dönüşmüş bu kitabı ıskalamamanızı öneririm.
Kerkenez, babası evi terk etmiş, abisinin ve okul arkadaşlarının zorbalıklarına maruz kalan, ilgisiz bir anneyle yaşamaya çalışan Billy Casper'in yaşamından kısacık bir kesit. Hayvanlara oldukça meraklı olan Billy bir gün, romana da ismini veren bir kerkenez yavrusu buluyor ve onu eğitiyor. Hayatındaki en değerli şey o kerkenez olurken biz de Billy'nin öğretmenleriyle, abisiyle olan ilişkisine, okulda geçen günlerine tanıklık ediyoruz. Yalnız ve zor geçen bir çocukluğun ajitasyona düşmeyen, gerçekçi bir hikayesi Kerkenez. Bana Ratcatcher filmini hatırlattı. Kerkenez'in de sinemaya uyarlanmış olması o nedenle hiç şaşırtıcı değil. Son sözde yazarın Ken Loach tarafından sinemaya uyarlanmış halini oldukça beğendiğini de öğreniyoruz. Ben de en kısa zamanda filmi izleyeceğim. İçimden bir ses ağlayacaksın Yaprak diyor ama hayırlısı. Modern klasiklerden biri hâline dönüşmüş bu kitabı ıskalamamanızı öneririm.
October 25, 2020
Herlezen. Met recht een 'modern classic', nog meer aangegrepen door Billy & Kes dan de eerste keer, de uitzichtloosheid in die tijd als je aan de onderkant van de 'working class' werd geboren....
It was a tough life growing up in the sixties in a miners' town up in the north of England. You can tell Barry Hines grew up in the area at the time, he hits the right note here. A raw, touching and a beautifully written story.
It was a tough life growing up in the sixties in a miners' town up in the north of England. You can tell Barry Hines grew up in the area at the time, he hits the right note here. A raw, touching and a beautifully written story.
''Look, there's Billy Casper there wi' his pet hawk.' I could shout at 'em; it's not a pet, Sir, hawks are not pets. Or when folks stop me and say, 'Is it tame?' Is it heck tame, it's trained that's all. It's fierce, an it's wild, an' it's not bothered about anybody, not even about me right. And that's why it's great.'
June 15, 2008
My nephew and then my niece recently read this for their GCSEs and both hated it. The exact opposite reaction to their Mother and two Uncles. Maybe it's a generation gap thing - especially as our childhood was less comfortable and therefore maybe a little closer to that of the child in the novel
It's still one of my all time favourites.
It's still one of my all time favourites.
June 23, 2017
A Kestrel for a Knave is a day in the very difficult life of a young man in a terribly poor part of England. Billy finds little happiness---not at home with his mother and brother, not at school with his (mostly) cruel teachers and taunting peers---in his life. It is only when he trains a hawk that he feels peace.
Because I work with many, many children who come from the 2017 American version of the main characters in Kestrel, I found the story to be like walking with a poor kid for a whole day. I was appalled by that walk, especially by the actions of some of my educational peers of that time and place.
It felt like a visit to a foreign land, though it wasn't just because of the setting; poverty of that sort is outside my personal experience, and, I imagine, completely outside the experience of most of our leaders, the people who make decisions, in theory, for the people of their organizations and all the people they represent.
This is what life is like for so many children. A Kestrel for a Knave is a vivid picture of life for working class people everywhere. Policymakers...voters...teachers...this is a book you should read.
Because I work with many, many children who come from the 2017 American version of the main characters in Kestrel, I found the story to be like walking with a poor kid for a whole day. I was appalled by that walk, especially by the actions of some of my educational peers of that time and place.
It felt like a visit to a foreign land, though it wasn't just because of the setting; poverty of that sort is outside my personal experience, and, I imagine, completely outside the experience of most of our leaders, the people who make decisions, in theory, for the people of their organizations and all the people they represent.
This is what life is like for so many children. A Kestrel for a Knave is a vivid picture of life for working class people everywhere. Policymakers...voters...teachers...this is a book you should read.
March 21, 2018
Demoledora visión de la Inglaterra industrial post-Segunda Guerra Mundial, en la que se nos muestra, sin ningún tipo de consideración lo triste y gris de la vida en una pequeña ciudad minera del norte de Inglaterra.
Cabe destacar al personaje principal, Billy, un chaval normal y corriente, habitante del extrarradio de la ciudad, cuyas condiciones (y aspiraciones) vitales son poco menos que nefastas. Pero todo parece cambiar cuando "encuentra" a Kes, una cría de cernícalo, a la cual comienza a entrenar y la cual representa, sorprendentemente, un atisbo de esperanza para que Billy consiga salir del circulo de mierda en el que está metido.
Como apunte, decir que es normal que Ken Loach adaptase esta novela al cine, ya que contiene la mezcla perfecta de ternura, comedia, tragedia y crítica social que tanto gusta al cineasta.
Cabe destacar al personaje principal, Billy, un chaval normal y corriente, habitante del extrarradio de la ciudad, cuyas condiciones (y aspiraciones) vitales son poco menos que nefastas. Pero todo parece cambiar cuando "encuentra" a Kes, una cría de cernícalo, a la cual comienza a entrenar y la cual representa, sorprendentemente, un atisbo de esperanza para que Billy consiga salir del circulo de mierda en el que está metido.
Como apunte, decir que es normal que Ken Loach adaptase esta novela al cine, ya que contiene la mezcla perfecta de ternura, comedia, tragedia y crítica social que tanto gusta al cineasta.
June 4, 2024
Kolay adapte olunan, ilgi çekiciliğini kaybetmeyen, fazlasıyla gerçekçi olan bir kitap. Fazla net bir aktarımı var diyebilirim o yüzden okuyucunun zihnine bırakılmış detaylar kısmı buldum ben. Ama o net aktarımda zaten bize acımasız bir gerçeği veriyor. Billy ailesinden, arkadaşlarından, öğretmelerinden alamadığı her şeyi sahiplendiği kerkenez kuşuna vererek almaya kararlığıyla karşımızda duruyor. Filmini izlemek için sabırsızlandığım bir modern klasik.
February 14, 2008
A masterpiece - why have I not read this before now??
December 31, 2019
Beautifully written and raw with emotion. We shouldn’t kid ourselves that children don’t still live with this level of deprivation - social and emotional. Not all children are academically bright or are nurtured to be but most will have hidden depths just waiting to be uncovered. The ending is shocking but inevitable and leaves us wondering what sort of life Billy will have now. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
4 stars because so much of the dialogue is skippable.
4 stars because so much of the dialogue is skippable.
August 18, 2016
A boy who doesn't have the ability to articulate his pain finds solace in nature. It's a kitchen sink drama that is elevated by the moving depiction of Billy's "silent" suffering.
I feel a bit ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, I was moved by the fatherless, friendless, semi-literate Billy Casper's plight, the cruelty he suffers, his isolation, his struggle living in poverty with a cruel brother (Jud) and a cold unsympathetic tart of a mother. I could identify with him, having grown up in similarly emotionally-tough circumstances (although in the South of England). But I found some of the writing too dense, especially some of the descriptive passages which felt like padding half the time. The attention to detail from Billy's Pov should have had a reason; if Billy was suffering from asperger's then it would have made sense, but it's unlikely the author had such an intention since this book was written in 1968.
It's a gritty, raw, and powerful book nonetheless, especially in describing the British school system of decades ago, and ultimately nihilistic.
But the thing that almost ruined it for me was the afterword by the author Barry Hines where he expresses his sympathy with Jud, with what Jud does to Billy at the end in particular, and says he later disliked using so much "Yorkshire dialogue" (where they all talk like characters in "the room at t'top"), which I don't agree with because I think it adds authenticity. The afterword was like seeing the magician in Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. Sort of ruined the magic.
I feel a bit ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, I was moved by the fatherless, friendless, semi-literate Billy Casper's plight, the cruelty he suffers, his isolation, his struggle living in poverty with a cruel brother (Jud) and a cold unsympathetic tart of a mother. I could identify with him, having grown up in similarly emotionally-tough circumstances (although in the South of England). But I found some of the writing too dense, especially some of the descriptive passages which felt like padding half the time. The attention to detail from Billy's Pov should have had a reason; if Billy was suffering from asperger's then it would have made sense, but it's unlikely the author had such an intention since this book was written in 1968.
It's a gritty, raw, and powerful book nonetheless, especially in describing the British school system of decades ago, and ultimately nihilistic.
But the thing that almost ruined it for me was the afterword by the author Barry Hines where he expresses his sympathy with Jud, with what Jud does to Billy at the end in particular, and says he later disliked using so much "Yorkshire dialogue" (where they all talk like characters in "the room at t'top"), which I don't agree with because I think it adds authenticity. The afterword was like seeing the magician in Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. Sort of ruined the magic.
March 6, 2014
False alarum - came across this book as a youngster (can't say "when I was smaller" because I didn't grow much further). I remember crying like a real cry baby at the injustice of it all and then the film was on at the local odeon and cried some more. It starred the lad who played Oliver in Lionel Bart's brilliant rendition of Dickens's masterpiece.
So pretty much done and dusted.
November 25, 2007
An absolute favourite of mine. I'm dating myself but it was recommended for our O level English Literature and I fell totally in love with it. It broke all the rules I understood about writing and is so gritty yet heartwrenching. No chapters just a sit down straight through read. As skinny and forthright as Billy Casper himself. You won't regret reading it (just try finding it!)
October 28, 2019
I must confess that this was a somewhat depressing book to read. It’s the December selection for my real-life book club and it reminded me of an earlier selection we read this year, Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx. At first glance, the circumstances of a poor Puerto Rican family in an American ghetto (RF) and a poor family in the North of England (KfaK) might seem to be entirely different. But many of their problems overlap.
Lack of opportunities, poor education, inadequate nutrition, and no role models of successful people for the younger people to emulate. Billy, in Kestrel, has a neglectful mother, an abusive brother, a job before school that is precarious, plus teachers that don’t care about their students, not to mention abusive teachers. He has to share not only a bedroom, but a bed with his drunken, irritable older brother Jud, then get up super early to deliver papers. There’s no money for extras like gym clothes and no energy for non-necessities. Billy doesn’t want to end up working in the mines, but he doesn’t have either the energy or a plan to change his destiny.
But our true interests will shine through--Billy claims a young kestrel from a nest, steals a book on falconry, and proceeds to train himself and the bird. Obviously, in multiple intelligence theory, Billy would have a Naturalistic intelligence. Being stuck in a classroom or forced to participate in sport is never going to be right for him. He had all of my sympathy, as I share his love of nature and particularly birds.
Lack of opportunities, poor education, inadequate nutrition, and no role models of successful people for the younger people to emulate. Billy, in Kestrel, has a neglectful mother, an abusive brother, a job before school that is precarious, plus teachers that don’t care about their students, not to mention abusive teachers. He has to share not only a bedroom, but a bed with his drunken, irritable older brother Jud, then get up super early to deliver papers. There’s no money for extras like gym clothes and no energy for non-necessities. Billy doesn’t want to end up working in the mines, but he doesn’t have either the energy or a plan to change his destiny.
But our true interests will shine through--Billy claims a young kestrel from a nest, steals a book on falconry, and proceeds to train himself and the bird. Obviously, in multiple intelligence theory, Billy would have a Naturalistic intelligence. Being stuck in a classroom or forced to participate in sport is never going to be right for him. He had all of my sympathy, as I share his love of nature and particularly birds.
August 11, 2018
“It's fierce, an' it's wild, an' it's not bothered about anybody, not even about me right. And that's why it's great.”
Firstly a quick summary for those of you, who unlike me, are not old old enough to remember the 1969 film adaptation of this book. Set in an unnamed 1960s northern England mining town, Billy Casper lives with his inept mother and bullying older brother and is often left to fend for himself. At school Billy is viewed by most as a troublemaker, bullied by teachers and students alike. One night Billy steals a kestrel chick from its nest, rears and pores all his love and passion into it. Pretty simple tale then? Or maybe not.
Many, many years ago I served in the Royal Navy and when some years later, as part of my resettlement package before returning to 'civvy' street, I visited HMP Dartmoor with an idea of becoming a prison warder. Now whilst I recall little about the actual visit itself, what I certainly do remember was my sense of dread when the prison gate closed behind me. And I was only visiting.
If like me, when you read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein you wonder just who is the real monster, Victor or the creature, in this book you wonder who is the real prisoner? Kes or Billy? Yes, Kes was taken from its family and is kept in a garden shed only allowed out to exercise yet Billy is also a prisoner. Only instead of one keeper Billy has many. Society.
Billy has no tangible aspirations in life. He will leave school virtually illiterate and a future marked by low expectations and little chance of real freedom. Those who have an opportunity to guide him, (family, teachers and the careers officer), instead treat him with indifference and violence. In fact most of the teachers at Billy's school have given up trying to teach preferring instead to try to flog knowledge into the boys. Whereas Kes, when off the leash, has the opportunity to fly away, non-lifer prisoners have the chance of reforming and staying out of prison Billy has little chance of escaping his pitiful lot. A point underlined right at the end, when despite knowing that he is likely to be given a good thrashing by his brother he meekly returns home to an empty house and goes to bed, he has virtually given up before his adult life has even begun. He believes that the highpoint of his life is already behind him.
I found this a heart-rending read but amid the hardship and broken dreams there is humour and a healthy dose of Northern banter, I particularly enjoyed the ridiculously competitive PE teacher. Hines depiction of the countryside and the kestrels themselves is beautifully written. I wish I could say that this book was a product of its time I fear that there are still pockets of hopelessness today. Kids whose only future seems to be one spent in low value, low pay work or on social security. This means that this book is still relevant today and as such is a real gem.
Firstly a quick summary for those of you, who unlike me, are not old old enough to remember the 1969 film adaptation of this book. Set in an unnamed 1960s northern England mining town, Billy Casper lives with his inept mother and bullying older brother and is often left to fend for himself. At school Billy is viewed by most as a troublemaker, bullied by teachers and students alike. One night Billy steals a kestrel chick from its nest, rears and pores all his love and passion into it. Pretty simple tale then? Or maybe not.
Many, many years ago I served in the Royal Navy and when some years later, as part of my resettlement package before returning to 'civvy' street, I visited HMP Dartmoor with an idea of becoming a prison warder. Now whilst I recall little about the actual visit itself, what I certainly do remember was my sense of dread when the prison gate closed behind me. And I was only visiting.
If like me, when you read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein you wonder just who is the real monster, Victor or the creature, in this book you wonder who is the real prisoner? Kes or Billy? Yes, Kes was taken from its family and is kept in a garden shed only allowed out to exercise yet Billy is also a prisoner. Only instead of one keeper Billy has many. Society.
Billy has no tangible aspirations in life. He will leave school virtually illiterate and a future marked by low expectations and little chance of real freedom. Those who have an opportunity to guide him, (family, teachers and the careers officer), instead treat him with indifference and violence. In fact most of the teachers at Billy's school have given up trying to teach preferring instead to try to flog knowledge into the boys. Whereas Kes, when off the leash, has the opportunity to fly away, non-lifer prisoners have the chance of reforming and staying out of prison Billy has little chance of escaping his pitiful lot. A point underlined right at the end, when despite knowing that he is likely to be given a good thrashing by his brother he meekly returns home to an empty house and goes to bed, he has virtually given up before his adult life has even begun. He believes that the highpoint of his life is already behind him.
I found this a heart-rending read but amid the hardship and broken dreams there is humour and a healthy dose of Northern banter, I particularly enjoyed the ridiculously competitive PE teacher. Hines depiction of the countryside and the kestrels themselves is beautifully written. I wish I could say that this book was a product of its time I fear that there are still pockets of hopelessness today. Kids whose only future seems to be one spent in low value, low pay work or on social security. This means that this book is still relevant today and as such is a real gem.
January 6, 2016
'A Kestrel for a Knave' is very close to home for me. It's author, Barry Hines is a native of my local landscape. The council estate setting reminds me of my childhood years. The British education system of the 1950's and 1960's is starkly portrayed with a clarity that evokes it's regimented ranks of private canings, corporal punishments and major failings. There were very many personal memories that resurfaced while reading this book. I knew many a Billy Casper. The home life too was familiar. Waking up in the cold and dark winter. No heating. After school I was first home and had the chore of 'making the fire' that Hines describes in exact detail.
The book was successfully adapted for the silver screen in the sixties. Resulting in the Ken Loach film 'Kes'. Memorable for me by Mr Sugden's school football game, the part taken by Brian Glover.
It is decades since I saw the film, so reading this book for the first time was a fresh experience. Brilliant writing that captures succinctly the 'northern' working class existence.
The book was successfully adapted for the silver screen in the sixties. Resulting in the Ken Loach film 'Kes'. Memorable for me by Mr Sugden's school football game, the part taken by Brian Glover.
It is decades since I saw the film, so reading this book for the first time was a fresh experience. Brilliant writing that captures succinctly the 'northern' working class existence.
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