Vernon God Little

Vernon God Little by Dbc Pierre presents itself as a comedy, but the subject matter is very dark as it takes a hard look at American society. We follow the experiences of Vernon Little, a Texas teenager whose best friend has just killed sixteen of their classmates and then himself. The townspeople seek both answers and vengeance and because Vernon was the killer’s closest friend, he becomes the focus of their fury. Vernon comes across as a deceptively simple boy, rather cynical and certainly unlucky and relying heavily on gross-out humor.

While this satire effectively captures a teenager’s self-absorption, it also manages to skewer mindless consumer culture, the media’s penchant for turning tragedy into entertainment, and the show more craving of fame by average citizens. While humor and mass murder are uneasy companions, the author does manage to pull off a story that, although bizarre, holds one’s attention, and while I personally found myself wincing more than smiling, this irreverent book was certainly highly readable. show less

The narrative voice in this novel is everything. Vernon is a teenager with more reasons than most to be abrasive and anti-authoritarian. You have to root for him, even though his personality is anything but admirable. And he's funny whether he's confronting the local media Handsome Harry or the constabulary who want to know what he had to do with his friend's Columbine moment. To 'solve' the mystery of his missing father, pay attention to the bench out front of his ma's place.

You know those comic novels which are supposed to be funny but aren’t, and where the narrator’s voice is supposed to be funny but isn’t… well, this is one of them. There has been a tragedy in the Texas town of Martirio. Vernon’s best friend, Jesus, has gunned down several of his schoolmates, and Vernon is still under suspicion as an accomplice. (He’s innocent, but no one particularly cares – Jesus is dead, and Vernon makes a good scapegoat). This is one of those novels where the entire cast are white trailer trash, and that’s sufficient to present them as comedy characters. Ignorance may be fertile soil for comedy, but there’s a right way to handle it and a wrong way. There’s a meanness to the characterisations in show more Vernon God Little which makes for unpleasant reading. It doesn’t help that Vernon is a thoroughly unlikeable narrator, nor in fact that none of the characters in the book are at all likeable – most, in fact, are closer to caricature than character. How this book won the Booker Prize is a mystery; how it was picked for the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list is an even bigger mystery. One to avoid. show less

'Me ves y sufres', 17 July 2012
By
sally tarbox

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This review is from: Vernon God Little (Paperback)
I really enjoyed this novel; there's no question that Pierre took inspiration from 'Catcher in the Rye' (one of my favorite books), but managed to create an entirely original work. Our teenage narrator is a 21st century kid, full of raging hormones, child of an inadequate mother. In the aftermath of a mass shooting at his school in Texas, carried out by his best friend, Vernon finds himself held accountable...
Holden Caulfield dreamed of paradise in a field of rye; Vernon aspires to a beach hut in Mexico (in the company of the gorgeous Taylor Figueroa). Holden derided the phoney adults around him; Vern is well show more aware of the corruption in the media, everyone out to make a buck. Both characters retain a touching naivety that keeps the reader rooting for them throughout. Brilliant. show less

...cleverly characterises the claustrophobia suffered by those for the whom the American Dream is nothing short of a nightmare,

Pierre’s adventure tale of the pursuit of poor little Vern by virtually the entire machine of ‘Merica is a combustive mix of satire and suspense. The pace doesn’t let up. From the moment you meet the eponymous hero until his final homecoming, you feel as out of breath, as uncertain of your surroundings as he is. It’s a novel that very cleverly characterises the claustrophobia suffered by those for the whom the American Dream is nothing short of a nightmare.

Vernon is the product of a dysfunctional single-parent family in Couldbeanytown, Texas. His mother dreams of a limited edition refrigerator while show more Vernon dreams of simply being accepted. He attends a local high school where something has gone horribly wrong. What exactly took place, you piece together as the story unfolds. Exactly what role Vernon played in it is what everyone else wants to know.

Through the introduction of some of the most comic US-lit characters since Ignatius J. Reilly and Yossarian, we find the authority of law enforcement and the voice of mainstream media lampooned like never before. All the while, Vernon grows up faster than he needs to and is beset on all sides by enemies both real and imagined.

The strength of this novel comes not only from his biting satire but also from the style that Pierre has employed. The US has always been easy to mock, strewn as it is with stereotypes, laughable if not horrific foreign policy and, best of all, ever too sensitive to take it all with a pinch of salt. The satire should therefore come easily to even a modestly talented writer.

What makes Vernon special though is that the writing is constructed as a perfect embodiment of the very culture it sets out to critique. Vernon’s narrative is offensive, cynical, self-absorbed, angry, confused, paranoid and pessimistic. While he’s busy lambasting his mother’s dependence on her rotating door of lovers, he’s lusting after his own dependencies. At the same time he’s scathing of society’s incompetence, he’s unable to organise even the simplest tasks for his own welfare.

The result is a tirade that can be taken two ways at the same time. While it seriously questions the fundamental aspects of USAnian society, Pierre also seems to be asking whether you can in fact actually take the writing seriously. On the one hand Pierre’s novel seems to find absolutely nothing of cultural worth. On the other, the very fact that this culture is so delicious a farce makes it worth so very much to an art form that strives to help us understand the human condition. Fact. show less

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 show more 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. show less

This book really surprised me. I don't usually read current authors because so much crap is published today. And I hardly ever read a book that is advertised as "comic". But I was taking a mental break from reading Derrida and wanted something less challenging for a change. This book is very creative. Many people will hate it. Many people will not comprehend the author. Many very talented authors (and other artists) are often misunderstood. I was very impressed with this book and the author's imagination. Don't get me wrong, this is no "The Brothers Karamazov", but it is good compared to other 21st century writing so far.