Vernon God Little
by DBC Pierre

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Book Reviews of Vernon God Little

Book Review: A sizzling satire about reality TV mad America
Summary: 5 Stars

With VGL, Pierre has decisively broken the mould of how a book winner should read. It's a sizzling satire about reality TV obsessed America and zanily written in helter-skelter youth culture slang language, liberally laced with broken English and references nobody outside of Texas will understand. I wasn't convinced the critics had got it right until I was two-thirds way through. Then I was blown away.

Sure, the people of Martirio are gross. They're overweight, gadget fixated, fame obsessed and mostly in dire need of getting a life. Some American readers may feel justifiably offended by Pierre's caricature of contemporary America but if the flood of reality TV programmes inundating the media is an indication of where the nation's pulse is at, I say we have every reason to be worried. Pierre's satire is an indictment of the media, whose "dumbing down policy" towards its public fosters a "anything for two minutes of fame" mentality even if it's in total disregard of the truth. In fact, nobody in Martirio seems much interested in the truth - particularly if it's complex - unless it's capable of being packaged into something simple, something the public will be able to embrace and throw their collective weight behind . So, Pierre rightly asks very early in the novel whether something that happened actually happened if it wasn't seen by anyone.

When Vernon's buddy Jesus goes berserk, shoots down his college mates and then turns the gun on himself, somebody other than the dead Jesus must pay. There's only one convenient scapegoat and that's poor Vernon. Nobody's interested in his DNA proof alibi - a hilarious touch - which leaves psycho reporter Ledesma an open field to frame him.

Pierre speaks to us through Vernon. Only in Vernon's late encounter with a surprising fellow inmate headed for the gallows do we hear Pierre's own voice. He exhorts Vernon to join the others and play the game if he's to have any chance at all, the message being "don't wait for God above to intervene". Be God yourself, hence Vernon "God" Little. I'm not sure I agree but Pierre sure makes a compelling point.

"Vernon God Little" isn't going to everybody's cup of tea. For a start, it won't be easy reading for non-Western readers like me. The youth culture slang was real heavy going. You are advised to read it slowly to get it. Quite apart from my mild irritation with Pierre's headache inducing language, I also wasn't overly enamoured by what I was reading until more than halfway through when the story and the writing both suddenly took off.

Love it or loathe it, Pierre's debut novel is a totally contemporary and relevant satire the reading world needs. A timely wake up call.

Summary of Vernon God Little

Vernon God Little is a daring novel and demands a patient reader, not because it is challenging to read--Pierre's prose flows effortlessly, only occasionally slipping from the unmistakable voice of his hero--but because the book skates so precariously between the almost taboo subject of school violence and the literary gamesmanship of postmodern fiction. Yet, as the novel unfolds, Pierre's parodic version of American culture never crosses the line into caricature, even when it climaxes in a death-row reality TV show. And Vernon, whose cynicism and smart-ass "learnings" give way to a poignant curiosity about the meaning of life, becomes a fully human, profoundly sympathetic character. --Patrick O'Kelley

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