Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre

I have to admit I’m rather cynical when it comes to prize-winning novels, as soon as a book is labelled ‘Booker prize’ winner something inside me instinctively begins to doubt the actual worth of the book suspecting that the judges have voted for what they consider is the kind of book that should win rather than the ‘best’ read. It seems that the more glowing reviews a book gets the more suspicious as to its true worth I become. So invariably when this type of book is recommended to me I approach with what is probably an unhealthy dose of literary cynicism. This was my state of thinking when I picked up DBC Pierre’s 2003 Booker winning and debut novel ‘Vernon God ...  Read the complete review

Shit happened" and it?s only the first two words in the book; an exclamation signalling chapter one. ?It?s hot as hell in Martirio, but the papers on the porch are icy with the news. Don?t even try and guess who stood all Tuesday night in the road. Clue: snotty ole Mrs Lechugna.? And so it starts, a road trip of OJ Simpson proportions set along the route from Martirio, Texas right through to Mexico. Vernon Gregory Little, a 15-year-old, Texan boy stands accused of complicity in a mass murder at school. Details of the tragedy are sketchy but that's not gonna stop the prosecution ...  Read the complete review

I was a little unsure about reading this book when I first saw the cover as splashed across the top is the banner “Winner of The Man Booker Prize 2003”. My concern was based upon the fact that winning an award does not always mean that the winner will have mass appeal. You only have to look at those films that have not won an Oscar and don’t even get me started on the Turner Prize, if you want to see real art take a look at how my 9-year-old daughter manages to turn her quilt inside out every night in her sleep. Set in the BBQ sauce capital of Martirio, Texas the story is told through the eyes of 15-year-old Vernon God Little. Martirio has been the scene of an ...  Read the complete review

I have literally, just this moment finished reading the 2003 Man Booker Prize winner Vernon God Little. Was it a worthy winner? You'll just have to wait to find out... After reading the first ever review on Vernon God Little I made my mind up that I wasn't going to read it. I don't tend to go for comedy, and although everyone praised it to the hills I just could not be bothered with reading it. When it came out in paperback I pondered over reading it once again. At first I (again!) decided against it, but whilst looking in Tesco and seeing it for just under £4 I picked it up, put all my doubt to the back of my mind and went home and began to read ...  Read the complete review

This debut novel by DBC Pierre is a strange book. A strange book that took me ages to read. The prose flows adequately for the most part, and the story is unique in it?s irreverent approach to a potentially taboo subject matter, which may account for it?s unlikely scooping of the 2003 Booker Prize. The story is told by Vernon Little, prime suspect in the aftermath of a high school shooting in Martirio, Texan backwater and home of bar-b-q sauce. We meet Vernon in the wake of the bloodshed, his classmates and his best friend are dead, and he sits in his underpants in the police station, preoccupied with his footwear, thinking about Jesus, and very soon introducing ...  Read the complete review