When sixteen kids are shot on high school grounds, everyone looks for someone to blame. Meet Vernon Little, under arrest at the sheriff's office, a...
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reviews
Feb 01, 2010
Paul
rated it: 
This one got thrown at the wall in a short space of time. My mind was prepared to love it but then I was confronted with the ugliest writing about the the ugliest antihero who was the modern hip hop version of the snivelling little creep in Catcher in the Rye who I've always wanted to go back in time and murder but can't because he's imaginary.
Some other review of this says - quote - as the novel unfolds, Pierre's parodic version of American culture never crosses the line into caricatu More...
Some other review of this says - quote - as the novel unfolds, Pierre's parodic version of American culture never crosses the line into caricatu More...
6 comments
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(14 people liked it)
Dec 19, 2007
Kirk
rated it:
Another book read for my coming-of-age encyclopedia entry. It's pretty clear this book won the Booker Prize because the Brits felt like flipping the bird to America. It's as if they said, "This is what we think you're capable of, you warmongering sons of *&$#^." (Remember 2003: The Year We Went to War. The Year Everybody Across the Atlantic Started Hating Us).
There is really nothing here to recommend. Take something topical (school shootings), add an all-too-obvious critiq More...
There is really nothing here to recommend. Take something topical (school shootings), add an all-too-obvious critiq More...
19 comments
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(8 people liked it)
Jul 08, 2008
Ben
rated it: 
I will attempt to make this review quite long, so that you will read a realistic account of the quality of this book before you read the boorish and thoughtless dismissals that abound below.
The common thread of said dismissals is a denunciation of 'Vernon God Little' as a unrealistic portrayal of the tragedy of a school shooting, similar to the incident at Columbine High in Colorado some years ago. The uncommon yet supremely smart and tasteful thread of *my* argument to that is that More...
The common thread of said dismissals is a denunciation of 'Vernon God Little' as a unrealistic portrayal of the tragedy of a school shooting, similar to the incident at Columbine High in Colorado some years ago. The uncommon yet supremely smart and tasteful thread of *my* argument to that is that More...
0 comments
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(23 people liked it)
Dec 16, 2009
Matt
rated it: 
Well I learned you don't need to spell correctly to win the Man Booker Prize, as long as the misspelling is funnier and more poignant than the original word.
What a great ride, our hero the adolescent sane lad in the world of overweight and overwrought large Texan ladies, this book has more villains than a Guy Ritchie movie, and often moves at around the same pace.
The slightly mad looking photo on the inside cover simultaneously put me off but fascinated me. I can't wait More...
What a great ride, our hero the adolescent sane lad in the world of overweight and overwrought large Texan ladies, this book has more villains than a Guy Ritchie movie, and often moves at around the same pace.
The slightly mad looking photo on the inside cover simultaneously put me off but fascinated me. I can't wait More...
0 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Jul 18, 2010
RandomAnthony
rated it: 
What’s the Booker Prize, and why did Vernon God Little win it?
Ok, let me back up. We’ll get to the Booker Prize in a couple paragraphs. I read Vernon God Little in part because the novel was recommended in 1001 Books To Read Before You Die, a go-to reference when I’m at the library and lost for a book :
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45220...
The novel’s storyline charts a standard “outside teenage male observing the world” path. Mr. Pierre might want to se More...
Ok, let me back up. We’ll get to the Booker Prize in a couple paragraphs. I read Vernon God Little in part because the novel was recommended in 1001 Books To Read Before You Die, a go-to reference when I’m at the library and lost for a book :
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45220...
The novel’s storyline charts a standard “outside teenage male observing the world” path. Mr. Pierre might want to se More...
9 comments
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(18 people liked it)
Jan 09, 2009
Manny
rated it:
Started this afternoon on the plane (Infinite Jest was too big to fit in my laptop bag), and already rather more than halfway through. It's Huck Finn on acid, and the author's technical skill is impressive. Who would have thought you could come up with a joke whose main point is a confusion between Kant's doctrine of the Ding an Sich and the Schrödinger's Cat paradox, make it part of a narrative told by a 15-year-old hick who isn't doing well in school, and still have it be laugh-out-loud funny?
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2 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Mar 07, 2010
Ian
rated it:
Now think hard. Think real, fucken hard. That’s what I tell myself. Cept I can’t. Can’t think hard cause I’m too affected. Or is it impacted. Or is it impacted. I don’t know. Fucken waves, that’s all I know. Waves that bowl me over and tumble me head over fucken heels. Drowning me and scraping me in the sand and salt that seeks out all my old fucken wounds. Fucken scours and stings is what those waves do. Hardest fucken book review I’ll ever try to write, I know that much. I mean, fuc
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2 comments
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(11 people liked it)
Dec 12, 2009
Melody
rated it:
Didn't love it, didn't hate it....the writing style blares at you. Sentences are sometimes funny/clever, sometimes overly "poetic" in a melodramatic way that actually affected my gag reflexes. Few times the writer, BORN in Durham England and living for a few years in MEXICO CITY then later Australia then IRELAND, uses words that are not really American slang....like, would a Texas teenager call dollars "banknotes"? I found myself pausing and mentally trying to make excuses
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3 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jun 14, 2010
Titah
rated it:
Finished reading this novel last week, but needed more time to start writing this review. Still amazed. Here we are...
If you are not got acquainted with American slank, you will feel a little bit annoyed by the excessive use of American teenagers lingo. Obviously, this is a novel that can be included in the Guinnes Book of Records as the novel with most f-word (in all of its forms). I had estimated that at least there would be some 800 f-words in this novel (of course I am using samp More...
If you are not got acquainted with American slank, you will feel a little bit annoyed by the excessive use of American teenagers lingo. Obviously, this is a novel that can be included in the Guinnes Book of Records as the novel with most f-word (in all of its forms). I had estimated that at least there would be some 800 f-words in this novel (of course I am using samp More...
0 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Apr 26, 2008
Becky
rated it:
wow, this book really seems to be of the love-it-or-hate-it variety, based on the number of 1 star and 5 star ratings. i'm going to split the difference and go with 3, since there were things i both loved and hated about it.
this novel won the booker prize in 2003, and a lot of people seem to think the british committee that hands out the prizes was giving a big middle finger to america with this one. it's not exactly the most flattering portrait of american society. the novel starts More...
this novel won the booker prize in 2003, and a lot of people seem to think the british committee that hands out the prizes was giving a big middle finger to america with this one. it's not exactly the most flattering portrait of american society. the novel starts More...
0 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Dec 18, 2008
Beth
rated it:
Huckleberry Finn meets South Park at the Mexican-American border. I saw a review from the SF Chronicle that described this book that way, and it's hard to improve on. But I will try anyway. Or at least I'll give a bit more detail.
It's wickedly funny ride as the author leads you through increasingly crazy situations that are just plausible enough that you buy in. If you are deeply offended by the 7 words you can't say on television, stay away from this one. The foul mouthed narration More...
It's wickedly funny ride as the author leads you through increasingly crazy situations that are just plausible enough that you buy in. If you are deeply offended by the 7 words you can't say on television, stay away from this one. The foul mouthed narration More...
0 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 05, 2011
Shovelmonkey1
rated it:
Brilliant! A worthy winner of the Man Booker Prize 2003. From the outset I felt a lot of sympathy for Vernon Little whose world view seems to be much wider and keener than the dumb-ass adults he's stuck with in Martirio. I've read quite a few different fiction books about high school massacres, most of them generated after Columbine but this one was quite different as the high school shooting spree in Maritirio is not the focus of this story. It's difficult to talk about this book in detail with
More...
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 02, 2008
Mary
rated it: 
A lot went wrong with this first novel, but the most irritating literary offense for me was the way the not-entirely-authentic-but-still-close-enough-to-be-funny Texas dialect gets away from Pierre and spins off into pure nonsense. Combine hyperbolic pidgin Texas vernacular with a cheerfully misogynist, wholly unlikable narrator, and you get sentences like this: "I surf her upholstery with my nose, map her sticky heem along glimmering edges to the panty-leg, where the tang sharpens like sl
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0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Apr 07, 2009
Emily
rated it:
A work relevant to current trends in media and material culture as well as a self-aware twist on the scapegoat archetype. Love the development of Vern's language as he wises up to the thought processes of his pursuers. Excellent and quick.
Dec 05, 2011
Told through the voice of Holden Caulfield with a drawl, Vernon God Little is the unusual coming of age story of a fifteen year-old who flees Texas jurisdiction when he is questioned about the murder of sixteen of his classmates by his best friend Jesus. His escape includes a few tequila-filled days in Mexico which end up when he is seduced and setup by his "dream" girl Taylor Figueroa, captured and returned to Texas, tried on thirty-two counts of murder, convicted on sixteen and sente
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Feb 18, 2012
Chris
rated it:
How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.
1. If you don't know how to use the f-word as it is used in the vernacular, don't use it.
2. Your protagonist is a turd. Having him stop swearing 4/5 of the way through the novel does not change that he is a turd.
3. Is this supposed to be a satire? If so, then here is a tip: you need either a wide eyed innocent or a sympathetic character as a protagonist (see above). Otherwise your novel is populated with a homgenous mix of More...
1. If you don't know how to use the f-word as it is used in the vernacular, don't use it.
2. Your protagonist is a turd. Having him stop swearing 4/5 of the way through the novel does not change that he is a turd.
3. Is this supposed to be a satire? If so, then here is a tip: you need either a wide eyed innocent or a sympathetic character as a protagonist (see above). Otherwise your novel is populated with a homgenous mix of More...
Jan 02, 2012
Alan
rated it:
'Vernon God Little' is priceless in its originality as book which seemed determined to be totally different ! As such, it certainly upset more than a few academics and literary dinosaurs when it won the Man Booker Prize in 2003. It is brilliant in its irreverent 'sending-up' of much of the values of today's false, media- controlled society and as such, in many ways, takes over where Holden Corfield's 'phoniness', in J.D Salinger's 'Catcher in The Rye', left off. Moreover, if you also want c
More...
Sep 03, 2011
G
rated it:
I have no problem admitting that I usually don’t understand the rationale used by the judges who award the Man Booker Prize, but the morning I opened my newspaper and read that the award for 2003 had been given to DBC Pierre’s debut novel. Vernon God Little, the spoon I was using to transfer my kiwi yogurt from the bowl on my kitchen table to my mouth suddenly froze in mid-air, about halfway to its destination, even though my mouth remained open. Surely I’d misread.
Letting my spoon fa More...
Letting my spoon fa More...
May 19, 2011
Elsje
rated it:
Wat een indrukwekkend boek: spannend, schrijnend en hilarisch tegelijk.
Het verhaal: de ik persoon, de 15-jarige Vernon Gregory Little, ontsnapt door 'de roeping der natuur' aan de gruweldaad waarbij zijn vriend Jesus al zijn klasgenoten om het leven brengt. De dorpsgenoten zoeken iemand om hun onbegrip, verdriet en woede op af te reageren en vinden in Vernon een gemakkelijke prooi. Hij was immers de vriend van Jesus? Ze worden hierbij flink aangemoedigd door de paperazzi-journalist Eul More...
Het verhaal: de ik persoon, de 15-jarige Vernon Gregory Little, ontsnapt door 'de roeping der natuur' aan de gruweldaad waarbij zijn vriend Jesus al zijn klasgenoten om het leven brengt. De dorpsgenoten zoeken iemand om hun onbegrip, verdriet en woede op af te reageren en vinden in Vernon een gemakkelijke prooi. Hij was immers de vriend van Jesus? Ze worden hierbij flink aangemoedigd door de paperazzi-journalist Eul More...
Jan 22, 2011
Larry
rated it:
Much of the hate thrown at this book appears to be rooted in its unflattering portrait of the U.S. Okay, it skewers much that is easy to skewer (gun culture, school violence, stupid media, Texas-brand ignorance, social malaise) although I draw the line at poking fun at barbecue.
The other point for reviewers who hate the book is that narrator's voice is hard to take at times, strangely poetic and vulgar at the same time. I can see that. If you hate the narrator you will probably hate th More...
The other point for reviewers who hate the book is that narrator's voice is hard to take at times, strangely poetic and vulgar at the same time. I can see that. If you hate the narrator you will probably hate th More...
Jan 17, 2011
Vernon God Little
If there's any justice, it is only a matter of time before the work of the curiously-named DBC Pierre becomes essential reading for anyone interested in cutting-edge writing today. Vernon God Little is a book that has a totally individual (and very quirky) identity, from a writer with a finger on the pulse of contemporary society (particularly its less comfortable aspects). Pierre is also a satirical writer in the vein of such talents as Terry Southern, and there is a manic More...
If there's any justice, it is only a matter of time before the work of the curiously-named DBC Pierre becomes essential reading for anyone interested in cutting-edge writing today. Vernon God Little is a book that has a totally individual (and very quirky) identity, from a writer with a finger on the pulse of contemporary society (particularly its less comfortable aspects). Pierre is also a satirical writer in the vein of such talents as Terry Southern, and there is a manic More...
Jan 11, 2011
Parksy
rated it:
Very stylistic, loved the prose. Very contempary and funny.
Amazon.com
The surprise winner of the 2003 Man Booker Prize, DBC Pierre's debut novel, Vernon God Little, makes few apologies in its darkly comedic portrait of Martirio, Texas, a town reeling in the aftermath of a horrific school shooting. Fifteen-year-old Vernon Little narrates the first-person story with a cynical twang and a four-letter barb for each of his diet-obsessed townsfolk. His mother, endlessly awaiting the deli More...
Amazon.com
The surprise winner of the 2003 Man Booker Prize, DBC Pierre's debut novel, Vernon God Little, makes few apologies in its darkly comedic portrait of Martirio, Texas, a town reeling in the aftermath of a horrific school shooting. Fifteen-year-old Vernon Little narrates the first-person story with a cynical twang and a four-letter barb for each of his diet-obsessed townsfolk. His mother, endlessly awaiting the deli More...
Sep 21, 2010
Anil
rated it:
Me ves y sufres
This is from Vernon God Little - a crazy novel; a booker winner to boot and according to some reviews a heir to Catcher in the Rye.
Now the last might me a little to extarvagant,but yes the book does have a theme and it's crazy reflection of the times that we and the future generations grow in.
Take these examplese taken from wikiquote at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vernon_God_...
"My pessimist has a New York accent, don't ask me why" More...
This is from Vernon God Little - a crazy novel; a booker winner to boot and according to some reviews a heir to Catcher in the Rye.
Now the last might me a little to extarvagant,but yes the book does have a theme and it's crazy reflection of the times that we and the future generations grow in.
Take these examplese taken from wikiquote at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vernon_God_...
"My pessimist has a New York accent, don't ask me why" More...
Apr 27, 2010
Lostinanovel
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Dec 05, 2009
Vikas
rated it:
If you keep aside the debate of this book winning Booker prize as a dig on Americans you will find everything in this book which will make you laugh.
Many people who are averse to book with Booker Tag should take this one as exception.My own perception is that Booker prize shortlist or winner books mostly deals with heavy subject and on many occasion don't make entertaining read.But 'Vernon God Little' is different.
The story is very simple.Based on a school shoot out where the main ch More...
Many people who are averse to book with Booker Tag should take this one as exception.My own perception is that Booker prize shortlist or winner books mostly deals with heavy subject and on many occasion don't make entertaining read.But 'Vernon God Little' is different.
The story is very simple.Based on a school shoot out where the main ch More...
Oct 18, 2011
Eveline
rated it:
this was really interesting. i can't say that i liked it, exactly, or that it was even enjoyable to read, but it's a weird book that i am glad to *have* read in retrospect. basically the ending is satisfying & clever in a way that retroactively makes the rest of the book clever as well, but it was a slog getting there. for me this was mostly because of the purposefully thorny prose - lots of hard consonant sounds and short, abruptly constructed sentences. which made for really impressive linguis
More...
Jan 10, 2011
Fritz
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Apr 27, 2010
Kemper
rated it:
If I ever start my own barbecue restaurant, I’m definitely stealing the name Bar-B-Chew Barn from this book.
Vernon Little has problems. His best friend just killed 16 of their fellow students in a school shooting, and the police suspect he may have been involved. His mother is more concerned with faking the purchase of a new refrigerator to impress her so-called friends than Vernon’s issues, and a sleazy producer/reporter is trying to turn Vernon into his ticket to stardom by impli More...
Vernon Little has problems. His best friend just killed 16 of their fellow students in a school shooting, and the police suspect he may have been involved. His mother is more concerned with faking the purchase of a new refrigerator to impress her so-called friends than Vernon’s issues, and a sleazy producer/reporter is trying to turn Vernon into his ticket to stardom by impli More...
0 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Aug 08, 2011
This is by far the best book I have read in a long long time and up there amongst my favourites of all time. Its very rare that a novel manages to make me feel emotional and pull at the heart strings but this really did. I really felt for the plight of Vernon and was hoping and praying it would come good in the end.
I loved the style of writting and the almost lazy amble through this nove, with just enough tension to really create empathy towards Vernon. I thought his interaction with those More...
I loved the style of writting and the almost lazy amble through this nove, with just enough tension to really create empathy towards Vernon. I thought his interaction with those More...
Aug 10, 2010
Matthew
rated it:
DBC Pierre -- Peter Finlay's nom-le-plume -- won the Booker in 2003 for this quirky black comedy, Vernon God Little. I hadn't heard much about the book but once seeing it cheap at the used bookstore I thought I'd give it a try. The novel is very much of its time, taking place in a post-9/11, paranoid American society as well as when events such as the Colombine shootings occured, which no doubt influenced Pierre's narrative.
Protagonist Vernon Little is a late heir to Salinger's Holden More...
Protagonist Vernon Little is a late heir to Salinger's Holden More...
