The Wrong Boy

I only mooched this to make up a 3-book mooch with another book that I really wanted. What a surprise! I know Russell as a playwright; I saw the original productions of Breezeblock Park, Educating rita, and Shirley Valentine back in the 70s and 80s. Russell's ear for dialogue and storytelling is well to the fore here; many of the chapters could stand alone as dramatic monologues, especially the hilarious accounts of the country singers and the coachload of Rotarians.

Raymond is the "wrong boy", always in the wrong place at the wrong time, turned from hero to zero by adult misinterpretation of a silly game. From then on he is betrayed or misunderstood by almost everyone he encounters (especially the adults) and what starts as comedy ends show more in tragedy when he is committed to a mental institution.

Russell has always been brilliant at mingling comedy and pathos and he doesn't fail here, although I felt the happy ending was rather weak. Of course the actual events in the story are not particularly realistic, but they way they are twisted by adults to make the odd and imaginative Raymond something he is not is horribly convincing. I really enjoyed reading this. show less

Hilarious, moving and enthralling, a story told by young Raymond, a “not normal” boy, in his letters written to Morrissey. His troubles start with some innocent boys’ games by the canal, misunderstood as a perversion by teachers and parents, and escalate from there. He describes his relationships with his family: confused mother, loving ally of a grandmother, horrendous uncle, and he enjoys the friendship of some slightly odd peers and other interesting characters as he progresses.
Even at its most moving, the humour still shines through. An intriguing and gripping plot, it is tempting to rush ahead to discover what happens next, but to do so means sacrificing the sheer joy of reading Raymond’s ramblings. Beautifully written, show more very entertaining and truly involving, this is to be highly recommended. show less

This one came recommended to me by two colleagues. I have to admit, after the first two hundred pages or so I was so upset I found it hard to see why they liked it so much. It's told from the perspective of a 19-year-old boy named Raymond who's on his way to Grimsby, where he's supposed to start a proper job. On his way, he's writing a diary/ letters to Morrissey describing his journey so far, i.e. the story of his life. And for much of that life, nothing good ever seems to happen.

I found it horribly depressing to a point where I almost couldn't read on, but in the end I'm glad I did. It does have a lot of comic moments, and it's really well written, and the resolution is quite good. It's a - not quite celebration of the outsider show more status, a book about how it's okay to be different. And it's definitely one of the better of its kind, if only because it has the Smiths ;) show less

I really enjoyed the book. All of the characters were very tangible. The relationship between Raymond and his Mum was particularly interesting in that it seemed to me that the well-being of one was dependant on the state of mind/well-being of the other. It was difficult to see how a stoic character like Gran had raised a daughter as feeble as Mary….
Gran, Twinky & Norman - what's not to love!

I thought at times the story lost its way a little and rambled on somewhat - particularly when the Country & Western band arrived on the scene.

The last two paragraphs in the book completely fulfilled the "feel good" factor for me :0)

Mooi boek over hoe het leven van iemand compleet op zijn kop gezet kan worden door het gedrag en beslissingen van een aantal slechte mensen. En een mooie uiteenzetting over hoe een verzameling van feiten nog geen waarheid hoeven te betekenen.

The Wrong Boy by Willy Russell was a good book. As I got further in the book I was able to connect Raymond’s behavior as being a normal young boy going through situations because of the environment, people around him, the confusion of boyish antics, his judgment of life and himself. After reading the book and sitting back thinking about it I was able to see and feel why Raymond was Raymond.

At points I would say to myself this book is corny but it wasn’t. I just wanted to move on to the next page and get through the book. Half way through the book situations in the story started making sense. His last stop in Grimsby brought his disturbing past to an end and gave him a future of being just Raymond. It was a good story and it was to show more bad I didn’t realize it sooner. For a while he just imagined himself as the wrong boy. However he was the right boy. He was Raymond……… show less

A novel that is funny and sad, happy and tragic. A very intense novel, but with a happy ending (whew!). The key theme for me was people who don't fit in where they are and need to find their place in the world.