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Loading... Vernon God Little (original 2003; edition 2005)by DBC Pierre
Work InformationVernon God Little by DBC Pierre (2003)
Booker Prize (125) Top Five Books of 2020 (173) » 10 more Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This has to be one of my new favourites. In my honest opinion it is a masterpiece. I'm no literary scholar or anything so I don't really know what I'm talking about, but the one author I was reminded of in parts would have to be Irvine Welsh, with its mix of horror and hilarity and that same inevitable train wreck-y feeling his books tend to give you. My gut certainly feels like it's taken a similar number of vicious punches during the reading process. Not sure why this book isn't better known, but then I'm sure there are any number of modern classics I am blissfully unaware of. This one is pretty damn special, though. Don't be put off by the conversational style of narration - that's the only reason I can think of for its surprisingly low rating on here, but anyone who gives up on it for that reason isn't just shooting themselves in the foot, they're blowing it clean off at the ankle. I'm reading all the Booker Prize winners since its inception. Follow me at www.methodtohermadness.com. This is a great book. A great f***en book, as our hero, Vern, would say. Vernon Gregory Little is a little guy accused of a big crime: the mass murder of over a dozen of his Texas classmates. But he didn’t do it. He just can’t prove it. Poor Vernon is trapped in a web of loyalty: to a sad mother, who falls for the scumbag televising his case; to a girl who passed out at a party; to a father whose body can’t be found; to the bullied friend who actually did the shooting. He’s the sweetest kid you’d ever hope to meet on death row. Vernon’s desperate attempt to escape his fate is both gritty and lyrical. And up until the last ten pages, I had literally no idea how it would end. Pierre brings all the pieces together masterfully, and Vernon recreates himself as (almost) a god. Poetic writing and a show-stopping plot, plus a quirky character you can’t help but love: it’s definitely worth the read to see how Pierre pulls it off. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesBlackbirds (2009) Has as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Literature.
In the town jail of Martirio Â? the barbecue sauce capital of Central Texas Â? sits fifteen-year-old Vernon Little, dressed only in New Jack trainers and underpants. He is in trouble. His friend Jesus has just blown away sixteen of his classmates before turning the gun on himself. And Vernon, as his only buddy, has become the focus of the townÂ?s need for vengeance. The news of the tragedy has resulted in the quirky backwater being flooded with wannabe CNN hacks all-too-keen to claim their fifteen minutes and lay the blame for the killings at VernonÂ?s feet. In particular Eulalio Ledesma, who begins manipulating matters so that Vernon becomes the centre for the bizarre and vengeful impulses of the townspeople of Martirio. But Vernon is sure heÂ?ll be ok. Â?Why do movies end happy? Because they imitate life. You know it, I know it.Â? Peopled by a cast of grotesques, freaks, coldblooded chattering housewives (who are all mysteriously, recently widowed), and one very special adolescent with an unfortunate talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Vernon God Little is riotously funny and puts lust for vengeance, materialism, and trial by media squarely in the dock. It also heralds the arrival of one of the most exciting and acclaimed voices in contemporary fiction, who with this debut novel illustrates that in modern times innocence and basic humanity may No library descriptions found. |
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I must say when the folks tagged this book "humor", I guess they were referring to black humor. Because this book was definitely black. It's the story of a 15 year old boy who is wrongly accused of gunning down 16 classmates and his trials and tribulations as he attempts to convince others of his innocence.
The entire book is written in the first person and uses sort of this uneducated slang that also is rife with the f bombs. At first, the voice was sort of off putting, but there are passages that are absolutely brilliant in it as well. Pierre's metaphors and analogies are very, very fresh - - and that makes the book more interesting. They are also very raw.
The main character, Vernon, is extremely well developed, and you keep hoping against hope that he'll get out of the bind that he in . . .and Pierre just does NOT let you off the hook . . .I was very emotionally caught up in the notion that this innocent kid was being railroaded.
There's also deep social commentary on the role of the media in our society. And in this book, the media is four plus scary and powerful and also leading society into the dark depths of immorality.
The humor is very dark, but there's some very clever stuff . . .but not haa haa funny. More like ironic or sarcastic wit. The book even had an "unput downable" quality, but that really didn't kick in for me full force until the last 50 pages or so of the book. Ok, even as I write this, I'm thinking maybe I should give the book 4 stars, but I just have trouble handing out that extra star when I had to work so hard to grasp the language of the book and to really comprehend what was going on. This book just wasn't an easy read at all. And then, the language and the crassness and the rawness sort of combined to turn me off.
It's just not for the faint of heart.
All in all, if you are a literary reader looking for something fresh (this did win the Booker prize after all), yet challenging, I'd say go for it. If you are the type of reader who just wants to be entertained, then I'm afraid this won't be high on your list. ( )