Patricia Wood

My book club chose this book to read for December 2023. One of the best things about being in a book club is reading books that you would never have found on your own. That is certainly the case with this book.

Perry L. Crandall (the L stands for Lucky) hasn't had the easiest of lives. He was raised by his grandmother and grandfather after his father absconded with money and left the country and his mother decided she couldn't raise him. Mind you, he was lucky in that his grandparents were wonderful people and they raised him well. Perry is intellectually challenged but he is not retarded. People whose IQ is less than 75 are retarded and Perry's IQ is 76. He went to school for a while but he was bullied and called names so his Gram took him out and home schooled him. Then she found him a job with Holsted's Marine Supply and he is a good worker. Gary Holsted is the owner and he is one of the people Perry can trust. The others are Ray Mallory, a local police officer, Gram, Perry's co-worker and friend, Keith and, sometimes, Sister Mary Margaret from church. Gram told him to do what these people say but not to listen to other people who aren't on the list. That includes people like his brothers, their wives and his mother. Perry and his Gram don't have a lot of money but, like lots of other poor people, they buy lottery tickets and play bingo. And they dream about what they would do if they won big. Perry wanted a new TV and cable, Gram wants to go to Hawaii and a dishwasher. Keith would fix up his sailboat, Diamond Girl, and get a year's supply of tequila.And then Perry did win on the lottery but by then Gram had died. When she died his brothers and mother took anything of value from her house and then sold it and gave Perry a pittance despite the fact his name was on the title. They also said they didn't have room for him at their places so he went to stay in a little apartment at work. Of course, once he won the lottery his family were all over Perry but Perry was smart enough to understand he shouldn't give them the lottery money. He did frequently write them cheques but he did manage to fulfill his and Gram's and Keith's wishes (except tof the year's supply of tequila). He also bought into the business and turned out to have an astute grasp of what would do well in the business. Perry was also in love. Cherry works at the nearby Handy Mart. Unfortunately, Keith also fancies Cherry and after Keith beats up Cherry's father for hitting her, he and Cherry become a couple. Perry doesn't quite understand that at first and thinks that Cherry is his girlfriend but he does eventually figure it out. His life could be better but it could also be a lot worse. If he could just get his family off his back he would be completely satisfied. Then he figures out how to do that.

There were times when I thought the author dwelled too much on Perry's brothers and their schemes to divest him of his winnings. I think there could have been maybe just two or three confrontations (but the one when Perry and Keith were left alone in John's house with the dog is definitely a keeper). This book was written in 2007 and the author has another novel that came out in 2014 but there doesn't seem to be anything more since then. Maybe living on a sailboat in Hawaii is enough.… (altro)