Book Review: The Lottery by Peter Venison

If you found an unsigned lottery ticket, what would you do if it turned out to be worth millions? Hand it in or claim the prize?

Follow the twisting path of Maggie and Greg when faced with this dilemma.

Who are the winners and who are the real losers? What is the price of honesty and does winning bring happiness?

Can you do more good in the world if you are rich or poor? Find out in this intriguing tale of an ordinary family.

*****

Maggie and Greg are an ordinary couple living an ordinary life. They love each other and their children. However, when they find a ‘lost’ but valid lottery ticket, they are surprised to see that it wins them over £490 million, an amount that will change their lives forever, in ways they could never imagine.

It was so lovely to be invited onto the Clink Street Publishing Summer Tour and to be reviewing The Lottery by Peter Venison.

The premise of this novel intrigued me as I, like many others, have thought about what I would do if a won a big prize on the lottery.

I have to admit, it took me a few pages to get into this novel but, as it progressed, I found I got more and more invested in their story as they try to navigate life as millionaires. I can only imagine how it would feel to have that much money suddenly thrust into your life.

It was interesting to see how the money affected Greg and Maggie’s relationship especially when it came to the different plans on how to spend it. Greg takes the business approach – using the money to create more money and in the process, becomes a little mean and then a little lost. It certainly doesn’t make him happy as he continuously has to battle the issues that come with the decisions he makes on the back of the win.

Maggie uses the money toward charitable causes and ends up doing a lot of good. However, even though she finds it fulfilling in lots of ways, she isn’t always happy and is lonely.

With a win this size, relationships have to be solid because, whether you like it or not, it is going to change your life, outlook and status however much you try to avoid it.

Told from the point of view of Maggie and Greg, there are also chapters told from the point of view of Sandy and John. Sandy finds herself alone with a baby and works as much as she can to do right by her son. He becomes very successful through simple hard work and I found this contrast to Maggie and Greg’s story very interesting.

There is such a moral dilemma explored in this novel. If you were to find a valid ticket that you didn’t buy that then happens to win, would you keep it? It does have me seriously thinking about it. Of course, right now, my answer is no but who knows what you would do if put in that situation especially as you wouldn’t be able to prove or find who did buy it.

I enjoyed this novel a lot. It is a great insight into how winning the lottery doesn’t always make you as happy as you’d think. It just potentially brings you a different set of problems. Despite having finished it, I am still thinking about it.

Thank you to Clink Street Publishing and Kaleidoscopic Tours for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. 

The Lottery by Peter Venison was published by Clink Street Publishing on 25th February 2021. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Waterstones.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.