Lottery
Page 27
A huge thank-you to my amazing editor at Putnam, Peternelle Van Arsdale. I knew right away that we shared the same vision for Lottery, and I adore working with her. I deeply appreciate all the other wonderful people at Putnam: Neil Nyren, who, when I met him at the Maui Writers Conference, talked about when my book would sell, not if, and Dan Conaway, who was so encouraging. To Peternelle’s assistant, Rachel Holtzman, who is so patient with my continuous convoluted e-mail messages, phone calls, and forgotten attachments. All of you deserve mass quantities of chocolate from Hawaii every single day.
A giant thank-you and virtual hug to my fabulous agent extraordinaire, Dorian Karchmar from the William Morris Agency. Thanks also to her assistant, Adam Schear, and to Georgia Jelatis-Hoke, and Mac Hawkins. You all now know exactly how many hours’ difference it is between New York and Hawaii.
I am so blessed to have obtained an agent such as Dorian. She loves Lottery as much as I do, and called at five-fifteen in the morning, July 20, 2006, to tell me so. (I was awake, honest.)
And finally.
To Jeri Kesling.
Your life has been an inspiration.
Readers Guide for Lottery
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• Discuss the author’s use of language. What techniques does she employ to take the reader inside a mentally challenged mind?
• At several points in the novel, various characters use the word retarded. How do you feel about this word and other words that are used to describe the mentally and physically challenged?
• Gram tells Perry that his brother David is weak, and that “the weak are more dangerous in the end.” Discuss the character of David and his interactions with Perry. Is Gram’s warning justified?
• Perry calls Gram “a good teacher. She didn’t mind that I was slow, but lots of people do.” How do Gram’s lessons prepare him for the challenges he faces throughout the novel?
• Keith and Cherry, Perry’s closest friends, have both lived traumatic lives—Keith served in Vietnam, Cherry has been abused by her father. Why do these characters form such a close bond with Perry? In what ways do their life experiences inform their relationships with him?
• Which character are you most drawn to? Why?
• Perry views things in highly literal terms, as illustrated when he refuses to spread part of Gram’s ashes in Hawaii because “she needs to be kept together.” In what ways does this literalism prove to be an asset? In what ways is it a deficit?
• Perry says that Gary “was always nice to me before, but now he listens. . . . Money has made the slow part of me not so important.” Discuss the relationship between Gary and Perry. In what ways does it change after Perry wins the lottery?
• Perry’s vocabulary words are a motif throughout the novel. Discuss these words in terms of the chapters in which they appear and the story as a whole. What symbolic or metaphoric insights do they offer?
• What do you think of Perry’s decision at the end of the novel? What would you have advised him to do?
• Does money buy happiness? Does it buy love? What do you think Perry’s life would have been like without it?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patricia Wood was born and raised in Seattle. She has served in the U.S. Army, worked as a medical technologist, been a horseback-riding instructor, and most recently taught marine science to high-risk students at a public high school in Honolulu. An avid scuba diver, she has assisted with shark research, won the Hawaii State Jumper Championship with her horse, Airborne, and crewed on a thirty-nine-foot boat sailing Honolulu to San Francisco. She is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Hawaii. Her work has focused on education and the study of disability and diversity. Wood lives with her husband, Gordon, aboard Orion, a forty-eight -foot sailboat moored in Ko ’Olina, Hawaii. She has one son, Andrew, who lives in Everett, Washington, where Lottery is set.