The Wrong Boy

The hilarious, bittersweet novel from the playwright behind EDUCATING RITA, SHIRLEY VALENTINE and award-winning musical BLOOD BROTHERS.

Big-hearted, wonderfully funny and engrossingTHE MIRROR

A warm, funny, poignant story. I loved The Wrong Boy - and so will youSUNDAY TELEGRAPH

A comic masterpieceBEL MOONEY, MAIL ON SUNDAY

Dear Morrissey,
Im feeling dead depressed and down. Like a streetlamp without a bulb or a goose at the onset of Christmas time.
Anyroad, I thought Id pen a few lines to someone whod understand...

Its 1991. Raymond Marks is a normal boy, from a normal family, in a normal northern town. Only lately, hes been feeling dead down. His dad left home after falling in love with a five-string banjo. His fun-hating grandma believes she should have married Jean-Paul Sartre: I could never read his books, but y could tell from his picture, there was nothing frivolous about John-Paul Sartre. Felonious Uncle Jason and Appalling Aunty Paula are lusting after the satellite dish.

And so he turns to the one person wholl understand what hes going through: Morrissey. Told through a series of heartfelt letters to the frontman of The Smiths, this is a laugh-out-loud funny, incredibly poignant tale from a character you cant help but love.

-------

READERS LOVE THE WRONG BOY

*****The brilliant way this book is written has you laughing helplessly
*****How the author gets deep inside the head of this young boy as he grows up is incredible
*****Russells voice is full of humour, laughter and comfort. Its heartwarming rather than heartbreaking and there is plenty to make you smile
*****Raymond is a funny and poignant character and made me both laugh, and not just cry, but actually sob

The dialogue - as you might expect from a dramatist - is cracking stuff: a colloquial poetry reminiscent of Roddy DoyleTHE GUARDIAN

Russell delights in his skilful depiction of a childs-eye viewTHE LITERARY REVIEW