Lottery - Patricia Wood
Perry Crandall Wins Lottery, Learns Life Lessons in New Novel
Perry Crandall is slow, not retarded. When he suddenly finds himself $12 million richer, he has to learn who he can and cannot trust.
Perry L. Crandall is not retarded; he is simply slow. His IQ is 76; it would have to be 75 or lower to be considered retarded. He has learned this from reading Readers’ Digest, which his grandmother, or Gram, started for him when he was ten years old. She taught him to read and study the “Word Power” section of the magazine and write down his words each day. Now thirty-one years old, Perry tells his story in the novel Lottery by Patricia Wood, her first novel.
Perry lives with his salty-tongued Gram, who tells him that the “L” in his name stands for “lucky.” She raises him from when he is just an infant, and home schooled him when he was a child. She teaches him a strong sense of right and wrong and, more importantly, she teaches him to play the lottery. When she dies suddenly, Perry is left to fend for himself. His two cousin-brothers swoop in to try to take care of things, and end up taking advantage of Perry, something he says is definitely not cool. While Gram had left the house to Perry, his cousin-brothers take care of the arrangements and leave him with $500 from the sale and no place to live. Perry moves in above the marine supply store in which he has worked for most of his life, and things settles down until he wins the Washington State Lottery and a cool $12 million.
Suddenly his relatives come knocking again, and Perry doesn't know who he can trust. His cousin-brothers tell him they want to help him, but try to trick him into signing forms giving them power of Attorney and control of his winnings. Even complete strangers are writing letters to him and phoning him, asking for money. Perry learns that he is smarter than he thought and that slowness actually works to his advantage. Readers will be charmed by Perry's sweet and often funny personality, and anxious to find out the eventual outcome.
About the Author
Patricia Wood is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Hawaii, focusing on education, disability and diversity. Lottery is inspired by her work and several events in her own life, including her father winning the Washington State Lottery.
Visit Patricia Wood’s website for book reading and signing dates, and for a readers’ guide to Lottery.
