“A thoughtful and evocative memoir … A must for H is for Hawk fans”
Sunday Express
Category: Reviews
Review – John Preston, The Daily Mail
“Kes … is regularly hailed as a classic of British cinema. But the story behind it turns out to be almost as good as the film itself … If the book is, in part, an account of [Barry and Richard’s] relationship, at its heart is another, rather more touching bond – the one Richard enjoyed with his kestrels. He has certainly taken his time writing it, but this is a poignant, vividly recollected account of an angry, agonised and apparently earth-bound boy learning, in one sense at least, how to soar”
John Preston, The Daily Mail
Review – Publisher’s Weekly
“Captivating and inspiring … grounded and uplifting, accessible yet aspirational – a pleasurable bend of conflicts that demonstrates the power of nature and the good that comes from nurturing one’s passions”
Publisher’s Weekly
Review – John Sutherland, The Times
“A moving memoir sheds new light on a celebrated film”
John Sutherland, The Times
Review – Mary Whipple, Seeing The World Through Books
“Rarely, if ever, have I had such a feeling of intimacy with an author as he tells me about his life and draws me in completely. Ultimately the author, having entertained and captivated the reader throughout the book, moves on to the conclusion, leaving in his wake readers who have lived his life with him and found their own lives enlarged by the contact.”
Mary Whipple, Seeing The World Through Books
Review – Miriam Darlington, BBC Wildlife
“The prose is as honed and svelte as the kestrels themselves, searingly honest, and sharp as a raptor’s eye. A poignant life story that will grip you from the first to the very last page, and make you well up with tears and cry with laughter”
Miriam Darlington, BBC Wildlife
Review – Charlotte Heathcoat, Sunday Express
“Poetic, yearning”
Charlotte Heathcoat, Sunday Express
Review – Mark Cocker, The Mail on Sunday
“A powerful evocation of northern working-class life in the Fifties and Sixties …This book is never bitter. On the contrary, it is the work of a man who understands that the important things in life require patience and that the most powerful means of persuasion is gentleness”
Mark Cocker, The Mail on Sunday
Review – Conor Mark Jameson
“A real pleasure. It’s so many things, hugely readable, polished, refreshingly candid, moving, insightful and inspiring. The man – and the bird – at the heart of Kes, encapsulating perfectly how we can draw inspiration from wild nature.”
Conor Mark Jameson, Author of Looking For The Goshawk
Review – Stephen Bodio
“Richard Hines’ childhood experiences training a kestrel for falconry in the bleak environment of working–class postwar England gave birth to three works: his brother Barry’s novel A Kestrel for Knave, the award winning film “Kes”, and this memoir, No Way But Gentlenesse. At the risk of offending fans of the other two good works, this is the best of the three, with subtle and moving insights into both falconry and the cruelties of an inflexible class system. It is a small masterpiece.”
Stephen Bodio, Author of A Rage For Falcon