Lucky You (novel)
First edition
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| Author | Carl Hiaasen |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
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Publication date
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Nov 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 353 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | Stormy Weather |
| Followed by | Sick Puppy |
Lucky You is a 1997 novel by Carl Hiaasen. It is set in Florida, and recounts the story of JoLayne Lucks, a black woman who is one of two winners of a lottery.
The book parodies paranoid militia movement groups that believe in somewhat bizarre conspiracy theories. It also takes a satiric look at vendors in the fictional community of Grange, Florida, (based on the real community of Cassadaga) who proclaim various religious miracles.
A theatrical adaptation premiered in Edinburgh in 2008.
Newspaper reporter Tom Krome is sent to the small Florida town of Grange to interview JoLayne Lucks, an African-American veterinary assistant who holds one of two winning tickets to the Florida lottery. She consents to an interview, but politely declines to have a news story written about her.
The other winning lottery ticket is held by Bode Gazzer and his best friend "Chub," two unemployed white supremacist thugs. Bode is also the founder and self-proclaimed "leader" of a fledgling militia, which consists solely of himself and Chub. Unwilling to accept only half of the lottery's $28 million jackpot, Bode insists that they track down the owner of the other winning ticket. Discovering that this other winner is black seems to vindicate Bode's conspiracy theory that the United States government is doing everything it can to prevent "Christian white men" from receiving the benefits of the lottery, and makes his and Chub's next decision easy.
After Bode and Chub savagely beat JoLayne and steal her ticket, she appears in Tom's hotel room in Grange, pleading for his help. Krome urges her to contact the police, but she says she can't: she plans to use the lottery proceeds to buy Simmons Wood, a pristine forest plot near her home, to prevent it being redeveloped as a shopping mall or office park; she can't afford to wait for the police, since a labor union in Chicago has already made an offer for the property.
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