More details here and here.
Later in the evening I settled in to do some reading - and read and read and finished the book!
"Lottery" is about Perry L. Crandall. He is certain that he is lucky (his Gram always tells him the "L." stand for lucky) and he knows he is not retarded - just slow. You have to be 75 to be retarded and he is 76.
Perry has a family (Gramp and Gram, although Gramp is dead when the book starts); he has a good friend Keith; he has a job. He is indeed lucky.
When Gram dies he has to move out of the house he shared with her. But then he wins the lottery and suddenly people look him in the eye, they pay attention to what he says, they touch him for luck. It doesn't really change him, but it changes the way others see him, and sometimes that is more than he can handle.
It is Perry who narrates his story; we are drawn to him through his honest and simple view of the world. The book is funny; sad, maddening and eye-opening. It is ultimately a feel good book and the ending is just right. Highly recommended.
