LOTTERY
Patricia Wood – William Heinemann - $36.99
This review is dedicated to Tracey Lawton who owns the very fine independent bookshop at Matakana Village an hour north of Auckland. Tracey, who was new to bookselling when she bravely set up her store in time for Christmas 2006, has quickly become a knowledgeable and effective bookseller and I know I speak for many who have weekend homes in the area when I say how delighted we are that she is there with her superb range of books. The key to her success is pretty basic, it is the same technique I employed myself in my bookselling days, she reads books constantly and then enthuses about the books to her customers.
One day late last year Tracey had a rave to me about LOTTERY. I bought the novel, took it home and until last week it sat beside the bed. Following its short listing for the Orange Broadband Prize I thought I had better read it. Well read it I did and guess what, it is a terrific read. Thanks Tracey, for this book, and all the others.
Perry L Crandall is not retarded. He is slow. His IQ is 76 and you would have to be 75 or lower to be retarded. He lives with his Gram who has a great turn of phrase. She raises him from when he is an infant and now he is 31 years of age. He still lives with her and he works at Holsted’s Marine Supply at the marina in Everett, Washington State.
When Perry turned 10 Gram took out a subscription to Readers Digest and taught him to read and to study the Word Power section of the magazine. He writes down words each day in his journal and is gradually progressing through the dictionary. She also teaches him to buy a lottery ticket each week.
In LOTTERY Perry tells his life story. It is a superb piece of writing. I was charmed by Perry’s funny and totally trusting personality. I loved his beloved, ever-wise Gram
I was humoured and saddened by his experiences and by the characters who peopled his life and frankly I couldn’t put the book down so anxious was I to see how everything turned out for Perry. A truly wonderful fictional character.
Congratulations to the author, and best of luck to her in the Orange Broadband Prize.
Check out Patricia Wood’s blog here.
Patricia Wood – William Heinemann - $36.99
This review is dedicated to Tracey Lawton who owns the very fine independent bookshop at Matakana Village an hour north of Auckland. Tracey, who was new to bookselling when she bravely set up her store in time for Christmas 2006, has quickly become a knowledgeable and effective bookseller and I know I speak for many who have weekend homes in the area when I say how delighted we are that she is there with her superb range of books. The key to her success is pretty basic, it is the same technique I employed myself in my bookselling days, she reads books constantly and then enthuses about the books to her customers.
One day late last year Tracey had a rave to me about LOTTERY. I bought the novel, took it home and until last week it sat beside the bed. Following its short listing for the Orange Broadband Prize I thought I had better read it. Well read it I did and guess what, it is a terrific read. Thanks Tracey, for this book, and all the others.
Perry L Crandall is not retarded. He is slow. His IQ is 76 and you would have to be 75 or lower to be retarded. He lives with his Gram who has a great turn of phrase. She raises him from when he is an infant and now he is 31 years of age. He still lives with her and he works at Holsted’s Marine Supply at the marina in Everett, Washington State.
When Perry turned 10 Gram took out a subscription to Readers Digest and taught him to read and to study the Word Power section of the magazine. He writes down words each day in his journal and is gradually progressing through the dictionary. She also teaches him to buy a lottery ticket each week.
In LOTTERY Perry tells his life story. It is a superb piece of writing. I was charmed by Perry’s funny and totally trusting personality. I loved his beloved, ever-wise Gram
I was humoured and saddened by his experiences and by the characters who peopled his life and frankly I couldn’t put the book down so anxious was I to see how everything turned out for Perry. A truly wonderful fictional character.
Congratulations to the author, and best of luck to her in the Orange Broadband Prize.
Check out Patricia Wood’s blog here.
What a lovely review! I am gratified whenever a reader lets me know my words have resonated with them.
ReplyDeleteThank you and Aloha,
Patricia Wood