The Phoenix Lottery

by Allan Stratton

Shortlisted for the 2001 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

In a desperate attempt to save his foundering charity ― and to exorcise a few personal demons ― Canadian philanthropist Junior Beamish creates a lottery in which the winner gets to publicly torch an original van Gogh. A grand comedy about art, commerce and untidy family relationships, The Phoenix Lottery sweeps from Mafia hits in post-war Italy to post-millennial Vatican intrigue by way of revolutionary Cuba, Bay Street backstabs, a seance on Baffin Island, and a Port Elgin S&M bed and breakfast.

1 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 1998

About the author

ALLAN STRATTON is the internationally acclaimed author of CHANDA'S SECRETS, winner of the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Honor Book, the Children's Africana Book Award, and ALA Booklist's Editor's Choice among others. His first YA novel was the ALA Best Book LESLIE'S JOURNAL. His latest, CHANDA'S WARS, a Junior Library Guild selection, won the Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Canadian Book Award, 2009, and is on the CCBC Best Books List.

The German/South African film version of CHANDA'S SECRETS has been named an Official Selection of the 2010 Cannes International Film festival. the film title is LIFE ABOVE ALL. You can read about Allan's experiences on set on the December posts of his blog.

Allan's new novel, BORDERLINE, a coming-of-age mystery/thriller, came out in March 2010 from HarperCollins with starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal and raves in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and Quill and quire..

He loves travel, cats and dogs, ice cream, working out, doing readings and workshops -- and, oh yes, meeting readers!

Allan is published in the USA, France, Germany, Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and Slovenia. You can read more about his books, and visit him online at www.allanstratton.com

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had a copy of The Phoenix Lottery for a while now but I only just started reading it up a couple days ago. Good call - this book was absolutely incredible; I was blown away. It was funny, sad, and everything in between, not to mention brilliant. I love the combination of the religious and secular worlds, the Vatican to Toronto goth performance art, ghosts, saints, and businessmen all involved in a plot that, while a little 'out there' to some, was really well pulled off by the talented Mr. Stratton. The style of writing was a bit unusual but was so well executed it took a page at most to get absorbed into the story.

[Emkay Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Phoenix Lottery is a wacky ride but so well-written that the craziness is not just plausible but likely. You root for the characters and get absorbed pretty quickly into their worlds. I love books that switch locales and interrupt the sameness of one set of characters. So, the Vatican and the pope, Castro and Cuba, Baffin Island (yes!), rural Ontario, Toronto. Van Gogh and a send-up of corporate excess, the art world, the Catholic Church, society's prudishness. Stratton writes award-winning young adult fiction but I'd love to see another adult comic work.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book fills in the colours of the characters painted by the stage play. There were some peripheral characters that could have been swept under the rug, but the back stories for the main characters are phenomenal. Stratton's sense of humour is much like that of Christopher Moore, but his writing style is superior to Moore's.

I've met Mr. Stratton, and he's a thoughtful, intelligent and articulate guy. Here's hoping we see more socio-political satire from his pen.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift from my favourite librarian ever. It was personally autographed by Allan Stratton. This story was a bit confusing as there are a few storyline that merge into one. Although with a few chapters read, this book became enticing. I read it cover to cover in no time. This is a great novel. Love his work and this one does not disappoint.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, and best not taken too seriously. It would take a daring theatre group to try this one.