The Phoenix Lottery — 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.