Looks and Smiles
First US publication of this unsentimental, sympathetic novel of the unemployed young in Thatcher's Britain. From Barry Hines, writer of A Kestrel for a Knave and The Gamekeeper 1980, Sheffield: a city on its knees after decades of steel industry decline and facing the brutal economic policies of Thatcher. Mick wants to learn how to be a motorcycle mechanic, but bad luck, inexperience, and tough times make it hard to find a job. At a disco one evening, he meets Karen, who works in a shoe shop, and the pair hang out with Mick's buddy, Alan. Mick and Alan's efforts to find jobs are in vain and they face a choice: remain jobless or join the army, which is recruiting to police the North of Irela