Raymond Marks is a normal boy, from a normal family, in the northern town of Failsworth. Until, on the banks of the Rochdale Canal, the flytrapping craze begins and, for Raymond, nothing is ever quite so normal again. The novel takes the form of a series of letters to Raymond's hero - Morrissey.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
'Willy Russell doesn't read -- he performs. With his Rochdale accent, flattened adolescent intonation, his whispering, jibbering and shouting, he fills the listener's head -- and creates Raymond, the real boy. It's a remarkble performance and should be compulsory listening for those hot on tackling crime without trying to understand the causes of crime'. Rachel Redford, The Observer. 'His own dramatic reading is hypnotically compelling. I found scenes from the story still whirling round my head days after I had finished listening to it.' Christina Hardyment, The Independent.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap
In The Wrong Boy, Willy Russell, creator of Shirley Valentine, Educating Rita and Blood Brothers, tells the unforgettable story of the ultimate outsider. Welcome to the heart-wrenching, ever-erring world of Raymond Marks, a normal boy from a normal town. Until, that is, in the wake of the Transvestite Nativity Play Scandal, the ill-fated
fly-trapping craze begins -- a craze that involves fifteen boys, a number of flies and an intimate part of the male anatomy -- after which, Raymond's world is never quite the same again.
fly-trapping craze begins -- a craze that involves fifteen boys, a number of flies and an intimate part of the male anatomy -- after which, Raymond's world is never quite the same again.
Full of memorable characters and an utterly engrossing plot, The Wrong Boy is one of the funniest and most moving novels you will ever read. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not available in America-why?,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wrong Boy (Paperback)
Firstly,I was surprised in the extreme to see that The wrong boy is not currently available in America but what the hey,Ill review it anyway.This is a book that is in equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking,a tome that moves through one boys early childhood to his ill fated attempt to get a job and break free form his lonely existence. Raymond Marks is a normal boy until the age of ten when he is made scapegoat for a rude boys game at the local canal.Ostracised by his friends and subsequently blamed for a child abduction,Raymonds life moves from one disaster to the next until he ultimately ends up in a secure psychiatric unit. Told in the form of letters to his hero Morrissey,the wrong boy will captivate all who read it and whilst set in Manchester,Northern England will be recognised by people anywhere in the world. Buy it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
i thoroughly enjoyed this,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Wrong Boy (Paperback)
This is one of the most interesting books I have read in a while. I was attracted to it as the author Willy Russell comes from the north of England, as I do and I was curious to see some modern, comic literature from the area. The North is known to have it's own particular sense of humour you see and this book certainly came closer to helping me define it.i found that the story did take a bit of getting into to begin with and that the main character in the story wasn't that sympathetic a hero initially. You soon learn however, that his somewhat bitterly superior attitude is a result of a string of life changing and down right unlucky events. Indeed, this boy's luck is so bad that, once you have over come the distress you find yourself feeling for the characters concerned, it becomes unavoidably funny in the blackest of possible ways. I wouldn't let myself put the book down once i had begun until i felt i was leaving Raymond, the main character at a reasonably happy point!! that is one of the best qualities of the book - ALL the characters involved are not only very very well done but also amusing and sometimes horrifically realistic. Even the more unpleasant characters such as the headmaster are subtly and satiricly written and, unfortunatley but delightfully, instantly recognisable. The book is written in the style of memories and digressions, a style which i think can become tiresome and irrelevant when handled by other authors. Russell's characters and the ironic sense of humour he instills in Raymond ensure that this is in no way the case here. I did find fault with two aspects of the book but one actually clears itself up by the end. I found Raymond a little hard to digest at first and his writing a little irritating. However, by the end, he himself has realised that heis style has improved and his 'lyrics' which grated on me at the beginning are recognised as being 'pedestrain' by Raymond himself. I found that exceedingly clever and confirmed Raymond as one of my favourite ever literary characters. It also adds to the extreme realsim and faux-autobiographical nature of the book. My final fault was with the twist at the end. I didn't dislike it as such but felt perhaps that maybe it wasn't necessary or could have been handled differently. Read the book and see if you understand what I mean. This is one of the funniest and best written books i have ever read - i have never actually seen anything like it and I do recommend it. It is also the kind of book you could return to and read again. I defy you to read the part about the 'Kexborough Cowboy' without at least smiling to yourself.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gem of a book,
By
This review is from: The Wrong Boy (Paperback)
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, down to earth 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, very entertaining and truly involving, this is to be highly recommended.
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