Dear Morrissey, I've read this great book (The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell)

Member Name: hawkida

Product:	The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell
Date:	01/09/01 (239 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: compelling read

Disadvantages: some flaws

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 into novel writing after great success penning classic films like Shirley Valentine and Educating Rita and the award winning Blood Brothers stage musical. Russell has a knack for making an audience care about the underdog and carries messages of hope in his works. This is very true of The Wrong Boy, and anyone who has ever stood on the edge of a crowd looking in will be able to identify to some extent with Raymond Marks.

Raymond goes from hero to outcast in moments, and from there onwards the story of his life seems to go downhill because of one action that seemed unimportant at the time. As misfortune follows catastrophe we see Raymond plunged into the depths of despair and eventual madness - yet he survives and comes out of the experience a stronger person.

And while all this sounds like a recipe for a dull tale of resounding sadness, one of the greatest things going for The Wrong Boy is the humour innate within it. There is a cast of supporting characters that are ably painted as people you'll experience every day, but exaggerated and often hilarious with it. From the jobsworth at the ticket office to the roaring disciplinery headmaster, to Ray's downtrodden mother - people will identify with Ray's feelings towards all he encounters.

The book is very much gr
ounded in recent years and draws a picture of life in a Northern town for those without much money. Ray talks about satellite television, watching Blockbusters and his mothers' job at Kwiksave and it all comes together to produce a very believable backdrop for the story. There are hundreds of titbits of information littering the pages as well, we learn various interesting snippets of fact as Ray and his grandmother watch educational TV and Ray's love of Morriessey is well supported by information about the singer, his records and his own life.

The book isn't perfect, of course, there are literary tricks played to allow a hundred pages of writing to supposedly occur in a half hour of writing, and there's a slightly rambling discourse about the country music scene and a peripheral character towards the end. The conclusion of the story is perhaps a little contrived but it gives good closure and can easily be forgiven. Yet, despite its flaws, the story is one that will stick with readers, offering a sympathetic view into the life of one young, sometimes naive, man.

With great reviews from most of the broadsheet newspapers, The Wrong Boy took a well deserved position in the best sellers lists both in hardback and paperback form. Selling at £6.99 for a solid 500 plus pages it is great value for money and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any reader.

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