The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell

Haven’t we all been there? I’ll be totally honest, until I picked this book up I had never heard of Willy Russell before. How I never got to read about him I will never know. Born in Liverpool and rising through the mists of obscurity, he’s a successful playwright with some award-winning plays, later made into films. Who could ever forget the amazing “Educating Rita” and “Shirley Valentine?” From stage to screen and then to books, this talented man brings his lowly background into play with this novel. The Plot. In a nutshell, this is a story about a young boy who through no fault of his own becomes entrapped in an adolescent ...

I've had The Wrong Boy sitting on a shelf since my last birthday, when a friend of mine lovingly wrapped and presented it to me, swearing blind that it was the best thing she'd ever read. "Thanks", I said, going through the Willy Russell-ography in my head which contained such uncool horrors as Shirley Valentine and Blood Brothers. Neither of which I've actually seen, but both of which through second hand accounts I'd long associated with the kind of thing my mum would really, really like. Eventually, last Thursday, I picked it up. Yesterday, I put it down. At some point fairly soon I'll pick it up and read the whole thing again as ...

The Wrong Boy is the touching tale of Raymond Marks whose life was turned upside down while he was still at primary school. Suddenly friendless and lonely, Raymond's life leaves him miserable and confused for many years until he finds solace in Morrissey and The Smiths. We join Ray as he is about to make a fresh start, beginning with a journey to Grimsby. Like so much else in his life, the journey takes an unfortunate turn for the worse and as he travels, Ray writes about what is happening to him and about his past. Told largely through flashbacks and all from Ray's own perspective, the story unfolds. The author is Willy Russell, making his first foray ...