Less is more

Lottery by Patricia Wood

William Heinemann 2008, 320 pages

Perry L. Crandall has an IQ of 76, is 31 years old and lives with his beloved “Gram.” After she dies he is left to fend for himself, but that’s OK because although he really misses her, Gram has taught him everything he needs to know. However, when he wins twelve million dollars in the Washington State Lottery, Perry finds out that the family who were happy to abandon him suddenly seem to have his best interests at heart.

This story is a real emotional roller coaster ride: Perry L. Crandall is a character you immediately warm to, his outlook on life is simple but some of his observations are very shrewd; his treatment at the hands of his family made me seethe. A delight from start to finish!

It’s Grimm up north

Once Upon a Time in England by Helen Walsh.

Canongate 2008, 368 pages

Once upon a time there was a man with hair like flames. He fell in love with a beautiful woman who came from a far away land and together they had two children with skin the colour of caramel. They all lived together in a little house on a council estate in Warrington but some of the people there were not very nice. They moved to another house but still things were grim and they did not live happily ever after.

This is the tale of a family’s unravelling, of racial intolerance, seedy sex and drug abuse. It is also a book about the things we try to hide from society, but more especially from those who are closest to us. It is gritty, it is raw and it is also incredibly sad.