> Dramaturge anglais à succès, auteur notamment de L'Education de Rita, Willy Russell publie un premier roman nerveux et intense qui ravira les amateurs d'écriture incisive à l'humour ravageur.Dans ce roman maîtrisé, on suit, sans s'essouffler, les pérégrinations improbables de Raymond Marks, loser attachant, adolescent mutin, annonçant d'emblée qu'il « est grave, triste et déprimé ». Pour faire plaisir à une mère un peu larguée et échapper à un oncle qu'il déteste, Raymond accepte un job minable dans un bled sinistre du nord de l'Angleterre. La galère de notre anti-héros serait totale s'il n'écrivait pas, jour après jour, à son idole, Morrissey, chanteur des Smiths, groupe-culte des années 1980. Au fil des lettres, Raymond confesse avec dérision la triste histoire de son existence (traduit de l'anglais par Aline Azoulay, Robert Laffont, 484 p., 22,70 ). (Stagiaire Livre, Le Monde)

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 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………

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Fabulous! ( )

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. ( )

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, very entertaining and truly involving, this is to be highly recommended. ( )