Lottery

Table of Contents

“This wonderful first novel is about a guy who starts off with all the chips stacked against him and still comes out a winner. It’s an underdog novel, and the underdog is a most satisfying hero, for more than any other protagonist, the underdog is the one we love to love. Perry L. Crandall, the underdog of
Lottery
, is profoundly lovable. Patricia Wood’s portrait of Perry is so vivid and funny and poignant and joyful that it avoids the disappointing flatness of the predictable. Perry may be slow, but his motives are absolutely good. He has the wisdom of Solomon and the heart of a lion, and his decision about what to do with his winnings, while it may not surprise readers, still feels satisfying. Perry L. Crandall is the thinking man’s guide to a happy life.”
—The Washington Post

“Patricia Wood asks readers to experience life in an unexpected, sometimes uncomfortable, often humorous way. The consistent voice and emotional logic of the first-person narration anchors readers securely in Perry’s world, gently prodding them to reexamine intelligence, capability, and at what point money affects society’s perceptions.
Lottery
simply reads like a real story about real people in the best possible way, leaving readers with a memorable character whose voice and world linger in one’s imagination.”
—The Miami Herald

“
Lottery
is a compassionate look at the triumphs and tragedies in Per’s life. It has an engrossing story to tell.”
—The Sunday Oregonian

“In
Lottery
, Patricia Wood has created an altogether endearing character swept up in the most extreme of situations. A testament to the transcendence of friendship and the redemptive power of love, this startling novel is at once funny and poignant. Fans of Mark Haddon’s
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
and Daniel Keyes’s
Flowers for Algernon
would do well to pick up this captivating debut. I loved it!” —Martha O’Connor

“When he wins the lottery, Perry suddenly faces a new set of challenges: What to do? Whom to trust? As Perry sets about living the life of a winner, he creates his family of choice, drawing around him a circle of loving friends. Wood makes us wonder if this will be enough to protect him from his unsavory relatives, but this is a tale of luck—and love. ‘One word at a time,’ his Gram tells him, and
Lottery
is a reminder of the power of that—the power of the perfect, simple word.”

“
Lottery
’s winning narrator [is] wise beyond expectations. But there’s more going on here than just giving readers some inside scoops on the world of lottery winners and the mentally challenged.
Lottery
, thanks to the stylistic constraints Wood puts on herself throughout the novel, also serves as a reminder that simple declarative sentences can do the trick in evoking a highly unusual view of the world—Perry’s view.”

“Patricia Wood’s vivid portrayal of Perry captures the reality of a life lived with cognitive disabilities. Perry is constantly belittled by those who think he’s incapable of doing almost anything. At the same time he is supported by those who believe in him, what he can do, and who he can be.
Lottery
does a great job of showing how natural supports, such as friendships and love, make a difference in the lives of those with cognitive disabilities—just as they do in all our lives.”

—Steven E. Brown Ph.D., assistant professor, University of Hawaii, Center on Disability Studies; cofounder, Institute on Disability Culture; and author of
Movie Stars and Sensuous Scars: Essays on the Journey from Disability Shame to Disability Pride

“Wood keeps the reader guessing as to how the story will end, and the resolution is satisfying. She meets her goal of portraying a mentally challenged person as a fully realized, functioning human being. Perry’s worldview is so charming and fair that by the end, you might think he’s the smartest character in the whole book.”
—Library Journal

"In her debut novel, Patricia Wood defines poignancy in words of one syllable.
Lottery
is solid gold.” —Jacquelyn Mitchard

“Wood’s light humor and likable narrator should have mass appeal.”

"[An] irresistible debut novel about what makes people good or bad, smart or stupid.”
—Good Housekeeping

"Fear not: This novel about a mildly retarded man who wins the Washington State Lottery is no Forrest Gump retread—we much prefer this (admittedly folksy) narrator to Tom Hanks as a mentally challenged Zelig. Patricia Wood’s mentor, Paul Theroux, lent his literary wisdom to a book that manages to be heartfelt and totally not corny.”
—New York

“
Lottery
is a compelling and beautifully written story that will show you how it’s possible to have a low score on an intelligence test and still be a genius at understanding other people’s feelings and motivations. And you’ll learn that having above-average intelligence may mean less than finding happiness with yourself, and the people around you.
Lottery
is a novel, but it reads like it really happened, right next door to you.”

—John Elder Robison, author of
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s

“A sweetly satisfying story.”
—The Sacramento Bee

“Wood’s debut is a poignant page-turner . . . a sweet read about money, relationships, and life.”
—OK
!

“Sometimes, we all need a little hope. That’s exactly what Patricia Wood offers in her debut novel,
Lottery
.”
—Asbury Park Press

“[Patricia Wood’s] debut novel is a warm tribute to the power of simple wisdom and honest-to-goodness goodness.”
—Honolulu Weekly

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2007 by Patricia Wood.

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eISBN : 978-0-399-15449-2

Wood, Patricia, date.
Lottery/Patricia Wood.
p. cm.

1. People with mental disabilities—Fiction. 2. Lottery winners—Fiction. 3. Self-realization—
Fiction. 4. Washington (State)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3623.O638L
813’.6—dc22

This novel is dedicated to my father and mother,
Ragnar J. Dahl and Bernice J. Dahl,
and
Airborne the Wonder Horse,
without whom I would never have met my friends and mentors
Paul Theroux and Sheila Donnelly Theroux.

Ordinary riches can be stolen: real riches cannot.

Oscar Wilde

My name is Perry L. Crandall and I am not retarded.

Gram always told me the L stood for Lucky.

"Mister Perry Lucky Crandall, quit your bellyaching!” she would scold. “You got two good eyes, two good legs, and you’re honest as the day is long.” She always called me lucky and honest.

Being honest means you don’t know any better.

My cousin-brother John called me lucky too, but he always snickered hard after he said it.

“You sure are a lucky bastard. No high-pressure job, no mortgage, and no worries. Yeah, you’re lucky all right.” Then he would look at his wife and laugh harder. He is a lawyer.

John said lawyers get people out of trouble. Gram said lawyers get people into trouble. She ought to know. It was a lawyer who gave her the crappy advice on what to do after Gramp died.

I am thirty-two years old and I am not retarded. You have to have an IQ number less than 75 to be retarded. I read that in
Reader ’s Digest.
I am not. Mine is 76.

“You have two good ears, Perry. Two! Count ’em!” Gram would hold my chin and cheeks between her fingers so tight that my lips would feel like a fish. She stopped doing that because of evil arthritis. Arthritis is when you have to eat Aleve or Bayer and rub Bengay.

“You’re lucky,” she said. “No evil arthritis for you. You’re a lucky, lucky boy.”