Product Description

Life is tough and cheerless for Billy Casper, a disillusioned teenager growing up in a small Yorkshire mining town. Violence is commonplace and he is frequently cold and hungry. Yet he is determined to be a survivor and when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk he discovers a passion in life. Billy identifies with her proud silence and she inspired in him the trust and love that nothing else can. Intense and raw and bitingly honest, A KETREL FOR A KNAVE was first published in 1968 and was also madeinto a highly acclaimed film, 'Kes', directed by Ken Loach.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25758 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
Barry Hines was born in the mining village of Hoyland Common, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Educated at Eccelsfield Grammar School, Hines then worked as an apprentice mining surveyor and played football for Barnsley before studying Physical Education at Loughborough Training College. He taught for several years in London and Yorkshire before becoming a full-time writer. Hines has written 8 other novels and television scripts.

Customer Reviews

Bleak but beautiful tale of freedom
AKFAK contains the harsh reality of life for a boy, Billy, mistreated at home and at school and fated to work in a dead end job in the mines. His escape is his kestrel that he has reared and trained from a chick.
Hines never sweetens the story with false sentiment but keeps all the action gritty and realistic. What is surprising is that it is very easy to sympathise with Billy despite his prickliness, bad manners and violence. Hines portrays him, as a normal boy brought up in poverty without any aspirations- his bad behaviour is a product of these social elements rather than his true self.
There is a strong sense of love underneath the frustration and anger. Billy lives for his kestrel and his sense of devotion is what lifts an otherwise bleak social study to more optimistic levels. The Casper family have a strange mixture of violence, jealousy and love between them- it seems that despite the anger and threats their family must stick together.
The film, Kes, although very similar to the book and a wonderful work in its own right, has a different ending- perhaps motive enough for the film's many fans to read the book and see what really happened.
AKFAK mixes vivid descriptions of the countryside and small industrial town with fleshed out characters with great dialogue and a story that's simplicity tells a moving and plausible tale of hope and grim realism.

The Grace of the Falcon, The Dedication of the Falconer
Although written in the 1960's this book remains as poignant and striking as it was when published.Depicting the life of a teenage boy, named Billy Casper, the book covers just one day in his life. In that single day the book encapsulates the boys' dedication towards his Kestrel, his turbulant home life and troubled schooling. The brutality of life around the mines of Yorkshire is depicted perfectly and the author, once a teacher himself, paints an acurate and astute portrait of education at that time.

Throughout the entire book its main charactor is depicted struggling against the people who oppress him, his family, teachers and those who say he 'will work down the mines'. By the end of the book the reader has encoutered everything from passion, jealousy and hatred, but throughout the novel the overriding feeling is of one boy trying to survive.

A motivational classic
The book entitled,"A kestrel for a knave",is about a young,poor,unwanted boy who is trying to survive a crucial life.He is mistreated in the school and in his home by his mother,Mrs.Casper and other close and distant persons in his life.He has one friend that he relates to in this text and that is his kestrel,Kes,which he had to fight for and achieve her possesion as well.Him and the kestrel have a remarkable relationship,like no other pet and its owner.He has a dull future that entails working in the coal mines and continue running erruns for his mother and his brother,Jud.I give this book a two thumbs up and encourage all young people to read it and realize how lucky in life they are.I am 13 years old and this book has changed my life with its motivation.It has changed me by allowing me to realize how fortunate in life I am;to have parents that care,a positive environment to develop in,and the understanding that although my life is not perfect,I am more fortunate than some people in some parts of the world.