A Rollercoaster Ride for the Emotions! (The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell)

Member Name: Speefie

Product:	The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell
Date:	07/02/01 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An emotional and highly original story

Disadvantages: None

'The Wrong Boy' is a fantastic piece of literature. I originally experienced this story on audio cassette, narrated by Willy Russell himself, and I loved it so much that I now own the book as well. Whatever your preference, I highly recommend this title as one of the most moving and innovative stories I have come across.
The plot (to summarise briefly) involves a young Raymond Marks, writing a journal on his way to Grimsby, and addressing all his entries to Morrissey (singer from 'The Smiths'). The fact that he chose Morrissey as his outlet is superbly fitting. As most of us will realise, The Smiths wrote music which reaches out to the heart of anyone who has ever felt isolated, cut out of 'normal' society, and misunderstood.
This exactly and accurately describes the situation of Raymond. His brilliant and hilarious notion of 'flytrapping' when he was very young sparked off a chain of events which led to misery and desperation at a very early stage in his development. What makes the story all the more heartbreaking is that what was supposed to be an innocent child's game was turned into something monstrous by the adults around him. This novel is fantastic at highlighting the way in which 'grown-ups' can twist situations and misinterpret a simple game into something sordid and dirty.
Raymond's life takes a turn for the worse after this incident, and Willy Russell brilliantly draws attention to the corruption and narrow-minded thinking that modern adults can be capable of.
I guarantee you will cry, laugh out loud, experience murderous thoughts towards some of the characters, and ultimately feel complete empathy and fondness for the child who is aptly named in this story: 'The Wrong Boy'.

A word of warning! If you don't enjoy regional accents (Mancunian in this case -although personally I think it adds to the emotional content of the novel) I would recommend reading the book itself rat
her than listening to it on audio, as you will probably feel more for the character.

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