Lottery

I had listened to this book years ago and I will never forget it. I bought this for a friend and they loved it too. I would suggest this book to anyone. Great story and characters. Quite a treat to read.

I loved this book. I saw my own sensible grandmother in Perry's Gram. I saw a little of Forrest Gump in Perry. And, I saw some of the worst and best of people. What a sweet book!

Such a delightful novel! I suspect that many of us could learn a lot from Perry L. Crandall and his Gram. Perry's world is an interesting blend of keen observation, acquired learning and intuitive feeling. He may not always know why something is happening but he is able to make a form of sense of it quicker than many others can. Perry, or Per to his best friends, is able to work out what is right for him even if some of his logic is foreign to others. I enjoyed this novel: I like where it finished and the neat sense of hope for the future, despite some sad aspects to the journey. Sentimental? Sure it is. That's what makes this novel come alive. Ms Wood has delivered an unlikely but likeable hero, some well-developed secondary characters and some despicable villains. Perry may be an auditor, but he is also a contributor. Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Perry L. Crandall would like you to know that he is not retarded. Retarded would be 75 on an IQ test, and he is 76. Besides, Perry takes care not only of himself, but also of his Gran, a crusty, no-nonsense woman who loves him for who he is and lets him shine his light through his own accomplishments. (She tells him the L in his name stands for Lucky.) Perry describes his life in simple and succinct sentences that manage to be full of wonder and surprise. As he speaks, we see all too clearly the many ways in which his nuclear family has failed him, but Perry never sees it that way. His glass is always half full. Shoot, his glass is three-quarters full--it only looks half-full to those of us too blind to see things the Perry Crandall way. And it's this innocence and optimism that makes his family betrayals all the more heartbreaking to the reader. We want to crawl into the book and protect Perry from the vultures, especially when he faces the biggest tragedy of his life. But Perry insists he doesn't need protecting, and he proceeds to prove it us and to the three remaining people who care the most about him: Gary, the owner of Holsted's Marine Supply who has employed Perry since he was sixteen years old; Keith, Perry's heavy, flatulent, potty-mouthed co-worker; and Cherry a young, tattooed and pierced cashier at the local Marina Handy Mart. When Perry wins the Washington state lottery we learn just who his real friends (and real family) are. His mostly estranged cousin-brothers come knocking, strangers arrive on his doorstep...and we hope--oh how we hope--that Perry can learn to distinguish the friends from the leeches. There is so much to love about this big-hearted first novel. The characters are rich and real and alive. Perry's voice is fresh, authentic, consistent, and homespun-philosopher-wise...and then, there's the ending. Oh, the ending! The ending is so unexpectedly perfect and poignant and satisfying. I keep trying not to write, "Keep a box of tissues handy," but, well, keep a box of tissues handy. You'll need them. But--to use another cliche--you'll be smiling through your tears.

I feel very privileged to have been able to read and review a copy of LOTTERY. Patricia Wood's debut novel is one of those all-too-rare stories that pulls you in, shows you a different view than you are accustomed to seeing, and really makes you care. The characters are so well-crafted you feel as though you could reach out and touch them, even if there are a few you would not touch with a ten-foot pole (you'll know them when you see them). Wood's writing is fluid and pure, very easy to read and extremely engaging. This simple, elegant narrative kept me pretty much glued to the pages the entire time. For anyone out there who may be wondering how to write effectively, this is how it's done. In my opinion there are more than a few older, more established writers who would benefit from a few minutes of reading LOTTERY. I could literally type for an hour or more on this book, but I'm going to exercise common sense and keep this simple. If I can offer any advice at all to the book-buying public for 2007 it would be this: Buy LOTTERY. Read it. When you've read it and loved it, don't thank me for recommending it. Thank Patricia Wood for writing it. Yes, folks. It's THAT good.

A teriffic book. The picture of Perry that Patricia Wood paints is uniquely whole. He's just like you or me--only a little slower. Or maybe he isn't just like you and me. In the end, we wonder, sometimes, if slower isn't better. Unlike similar characters, Perry is more than a mirror of what goes on around him, more that a voice to tell the story. Perry, himself, is the story. His inner life is complex, and he shows us a mind used to careful reflection. He's complete, not half-formed. And he's a winner.

Lottery is the first account I've read that talks in a realistic manner about what it's like to be "slow." I'm Aspergian, and in many ways I am the opposite of slow, and yet the problems I face in my own life bear many similarities to what I read in Lottery. I think Pat drew extensively on her own real life experiences - her dad winning the lattery for real, a slow brother in law, and veterans in the family. That resulted in a very real feel to all the people. It's basically a happy tale, though parts were actually very troubling to me, because I was teased in the same manner she describes in the book. Consequently, the parts that were troubling and hard for me to read might seem funny to a person who had a different upbringing. I had the same response to my brother's book about our childhood, Running With Scissors. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about the human condition, and I also recommend it to people who work with the developmentally challenged, and their families. Finally, I would say the book is written with sensitivity and compassion, and it does not contain gratuitous sex or violence. There's nothing in it to scare you away.