Lottery by Patricia Wood Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Lottery
Book Review: Oh! the possibilities
Summary: 3 Stars
What an innovative plot: A mentally challenged man wins the lottery. Imagine the possibilities of that story...now stop thinking about all of the plots and sub-plots that you might invent to go along with such an excellent story line - and imagine a story that is (for lack of a better word) lame.
Don't get me wrong, it was a descent enough story. But the story line is simple; and despite the fundamental simplicity it still manages to follow the characters to implausible ending. The characters are transient. With the exception of the main character, all of the others are one dimensional with only a brief "aside" (which seems to be written almost as an after thought) to explain who they are and how they got there.
If you like Lifetime Movies, or you are interested in a feel good confetti read, this is for you.
Book Review: Patricia Wood's Lottery
Summary: 5 Stars
Lottery
Patricia Wood's debut novel, Lottery, makes the reader think in subtle ways. The story, told by Perry L. Crandall, is simple because Perry has an IQ of 76 (which is not retarded on any scale: 75 and below is retarded). Nonetheless, Perry's constantly trying not to forget things (which is much harder than remembering things), and this triggers the reader's own memories, prejudices, wishes, and dreams.
Perry's middle initial, L, stands for lucky. Perry wins a twelve million dollar jackpot playing the weekly lotto to prove how lucky he is. Winning the lottery is hard for anyone, but it's even more challenging for someone with a 76 IQ. Wood never strays from Perry's point of view, giving the reader nailbiting fits, wondering if he will or he won't make the right decisions for his future.
Perry L. Crandall is an inspiration, not just for what he does with his millions, but for how he lives his life even before he becomes an instant millionaire. I especially like his daily words: Perry must study the dictionary and learn words so that he can understand what people are saying or doing. Others (like his money-grubbing family) assume that Perry doesn't know what's going on, but he's full of surprises.
Lottery entertains while it educates. The reader is the lucky one for picking up the book. I give it five of five stars.
Book Review: Patricia Wood's Lottery Proves She's Got a Lot More than Luck
Summary: 4 Stars
How many friends cherish you, value you beyond all possible riches, and are as much a part of your life as you are of theirs, regardless of what you can offer them? If you've known even one in your life, then you'll love and understand Patricia Wood's Lottery. And if you haven't, then Wood's first novel will give you the chance to meet one such character, Perry L. Crandall. The "L" stands for "Lucky," his grandmother tells him, though we are hesitant to believe her at first, since Perry is a simple-minded man living what appears to be an unremarkable existence. Perry tells us from the start that he is thirty-two, "not retarded," honest, and everything else his grandmother says. We think, "So what?" Then he adds that he's won $12 million in the lottery, and we begin to see how Wood, writing from her sailboat home in Hawaii, describes his remarkable existence indeed, though not for the reasons you may suspect.
On every page of Lottery, Perry tells his story, not merely of winning the Washington State Lottery --- a potentially life-changing event --- but the more important story of his personal relationships. It's as if we were privy to a personal journal.
Perry's observations are also interspersed with dialogue that rings true to other characters such as Keith, who comments on the increasing number of estranged family members and administrators who suddenly enter Perry's post-lottery life (just to "help" with investments).
"No! No. No. Perry. Listen. They want all of it. They will not be satisfied. Oh damn! Keith looks as if he has indigestion... "Per, these people are ripping you off!"
Despite the obvious potential to be changed by $12 million, Perry defies expectations. Still, he evolves through the story, but we realize it's because of something more banal yet in many ways, more rare than a lottery win: true friends. Perry reminds us of the beliefs we'd like to think we all possess, but few of us actually live every day. "A friend is someone who does what you want without asking why." "I think war is bad. People get killed." "Everything is harder without Gram... Life goes on." Such fundamentally human thoughts are expressed in his simple tone and memorized vocabulary. (One of Wood's clever devices to make Perry so real and yet remarkable is that he's been reading the dictionary since childhood, so he uses the occasional obtuse word in appropriate though unexpected ways.)
We can marvel at the depth of his character as he muses, "It is important to wonder. You find out things when you wonder." And we may see ourselves in his words, such as when he states, "I am not faster, but it is like people think I am. Money has made the slow part of me not so important. Keith treats me the same. He still yells at me... He is the same person and so am I."
Perry's insights come in part from Pat Wood's genuine sensitivity, practicality, and her military experience dealing with returning vets. Through Perry, she conveys, more effectively than through a more sophisticated character, the message that even though this man is not brilliant, or even average, he has the real power --- and the right -- to make his own decisions in life, as much as you or I. While we might question some of them (such as writing huge checks to ungrateful family members), we cannot help but admit that perhaps Perry does in fact know better than we do. He realizes, for example, that "It is good to give people what they want... No one in my family will bother me anymore. They have what they want. And so do I." A rare state of mind indeed.
Perry reminds us what really matters in life (especially today, in a society where people with higher IQs than his are not particularly known for their ability to make or express deep insights). "I cannot punch. I am not a fighter," he admits. "But I love. I am someone who loves." And so we come to love Perry too, for living his life the way we wish we could.
by Mary L. Radnofsky, Ph.D.
The Socrates Institute
Honolulu, 12/30/07
Book Review: Perry Crandall Will Live on in Your Mind
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved Lottery. It is authentic and never sugar-coated, but a sweet novel in the very best sense of the word. The book is written entirely in the first person voice of Perry Crandall, who is "slow, but not retarded". Sustaining Perry's realistic voice in a manner that broadens the reader's perceptions, rather than making you feel constrained by the point of view is an impressive example of the writer's craft, the more so for the subtlety of that craft. I'm familiar with the settings of the book and appreciated the accuracy of the descriptions and lack of false notes that can jar a reader out of belief in the narrative. Lottery has been short listed for Britain's prestigious Orange Prize for Literature and it is richly deserved. I'm busy recommending to family and friends.Book Review: Perry rhymes with Cherry
Summary: 5 Stars
Lottery is a must-Read book. It is full of genuine characters which have captured my heart. The honesty of some shines a light on the corruption of others. This book reaches deep down challenging the reader to redefine what 'Family' really means. Is family blood? or is family those who sacrifice thier blood. The characters Keith and Cherry are a wonderful example of a true friend. Although each benefited from Perry, Perry was the ultimate receiver. He proved the adage "You reap what you sow" and he was smart enough to 'sow' enough so as his riches will never run dry.