4 stars for Lottery by Patricia Wood.
In the midst of watching and rewatching Chinese drama series, I decide that I still want to do some reading. Deep down I know my reading progess will be slow but it does not bother me so long as I know I am still reading. I have no idea what I want to read, so I just randomly scroll to a collection on my kindle and click on it. I laugh out loud when I saw that the book I have so randomly chosen is one titled Lottery.
Initially, I wasn't sure if Lottery will make a good company, but it turns out that my worries are extras. The book makes an excellent lunch time buddy as the characters - Perry, Keith, Gary, Cherry, Gram, Gramp and even those so called cousin-brothers - come alive and leap out of the pages to accompany me on a great many lunches. Perry and his first person narratives never fail to perk up my lunch break. Gradually, his voice and his simple outlook to life turned into a kind of quiet strength for me.
As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, I start to worry if I will ever finish reading this book. Yes, it does feel as if I am taking forever to read this book since I read mostly during weekdays lunch time. Now I have my answer and I know it can be done because reading is just, well, reading. The story will come to an end some day, even if it takes me as long as three months.
Lottery is both a happy and sad story. The protagonist, Perry, is a simple man. And because he is a simple man, everything he sees and does is processed in a different way. And because of that, life becomes so much simpler. And happier. I would say, Perry in Lottery is the thinking cap to a happy life. And oh yes, I learn a new word from him in this book. Perry likes the word "echt" and it keeps popping up throughout the book - it means real, genuine, authentic.
Lottery is a great story. This is echt. This is true.