This book, though no travelogue, describes
two journeys made by young Raymond Marks.
The first is simple in conception and
purpose as he tries to get from Failsworth in Manchester to Grimsby to start a
job on a building site organised for him by his uncle. But it is anything but straightforward in execution
as his efforts to hitch-hike there fall foul of bad luck, poor decisions and a
sketchy grasp of geography. Happily for
the reader it is also extremely funny.
It is all recorded in real time by Raymond
in his ‘lyrics book’ in the form of letters written (never to be sent) to his
musical hero, Morrissey. But his letters
go further than his current misadventures as he takes the opportunity to share
his longer, troubled, journey from boyhood to adolescence. That has been neither simple nor amusing,
though there is plenty of black humour there.
Rather it is engrossing and moving as the reader roots for Raymond as he
battles against fate, hostile adults, the system and his own inherent
‘differentness’.
No spoilers here; the unfolding journeys
need to be into the unknown, though Russell plants seeds and bait along the way
to tempt progress and add a sense of foreboding. The five hundred pages are full of text but
the prose is easy to read having a deceptive simplicity that manages to sound
both authentically ‘young’ and articulately clever - believably so as Raymond
is clearly a born writer.
As is, of course, Willy Russell. If further proof was needed it is here in
this carefully plotted, well revealed, funny, tragic and thought-provoking
book.
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