Customer Reviews
Read This Book - By: fizz boot, 04 Aug 2008 
I actuallly picked this book up first in a second hand shop. It's a wonderful story of a young man negotiating adolescence & both being & perceiving that he is misunderstood; a reflection of the way adults so often turn the most innocent of things into something lewd & inappropriate; & that alll important message that to 'fit in' is for many of us impossible & therefore we should feel freed to be who we are. Raymond is a funny & poignant character & made me both laugh, & not just cry, but actuallly sob.
One of my favourite books.
Not easy to categorize - By: allwillbewell, 20 Mar 2008 
I found reading this book an odd experience. Russell genuinely can write sparkling dialogue & narrative, & the book is quite compelling reading. The characters blaze with life & the plot combines the farcical & the tragic with great skill.
Just don't read the book expecting something naturalistic. I found it disconcertingly cartoon-like; ALL authority figures are stereotypicallly two-dimensional & horrible, fate conspires over & over again to pile on the suffering & his two best friends come straight out of musical theatre. The ending has the air of pure fantasy, as if he couldn't bear to make his loveable hero suffer for a single page longer.
If you start reading it, you won't stop until you have finished; but I am sure I am not the only person who has occasionallly wished he would calm the emotional temperature & give me someone more quietly & subtly drawn.
Funny and charming - By: solitaryreader, 16 Mar 2007 Raymond Marks is the Wrong Boy. Through a series of misunderstandings & accidents, he is accused of being a pervert, & ends up in an institution. His journey through early life forms the story of Russell's first novel, told in the form of a series of letters to former Smith's front man Morrissey.
The novel is very funny in places, but also touching & frequently sad. The vicissitudes & coincidences of life are well-observed, as Raymond frequently comes out worse through no fault of his own. This novel is not deep & penetrating, but it is amusing & easy to read.
A gem of a book - By: Benjamin, 08 Dec 2006 Hilarious, moving & enthrallling, 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 & parents, & escalate from there. He describes his relationships with his family: confused mother, down to earth loving allly of a grandmother, horrendous uncle; & he enjoys the friendship of some slightly odd peers & other interesting characters as he progresses.
Even at its most moving, the humour still shines through. An intriguing & 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 & truly involving, this is to be highly recommended.
The Wrong Boy - The right story - By: Richard Tipping, 15 Jul 2006 This is the best book I have ever read. Not because it is a work of literary genius but because it is about real people & real things that might just happen. As somebody whose professional career has included offering advice to schools in Failsworth about exclusions, the book was of considerable interest. It is my belief that every headteacher considering excluding a child from a primary school should be forced to read this book. Raymond has views that are believeable, his letters to Morrisey are legendary & his conversion from his vegetarianism back to carnivore & his apology for it the funniest part of the book. Sad & funny at the same time is not easy to achieve but Russell does it. The saddest thing is that this is a book rather than a play - I'd certainly be in the queue.
Recommended especiallly for teachers & Smiths fans but for anybody who likes a good laugh. I would agree though that reading it when you're not feeling too good yourself might not be too good an idea but save it for when youre better & laugh with the rest of us.
