But behind the whirling humour lies a belief that, even if we can't believe in God, we should all try a little tenderness in our dealings with others. Eulalio “Lally” Ledesma, claiming to be a CNN reporter, befriends Vernon’s mother Doris and promises to help Vernon with his public relations problem. 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. Cant' find the page, but something like "The sky was like a bunch of lint balls on a soggy graham cracker. As he tries to flee to Mexico, dreaming of a beach hut just like in the movies, more bodies appear and the Bar-B-Chew Barn - almost a character in its own right - sets up a local Swat team to hunt him down.

Vernon God Little: a 21st century comedy in the presence of

But all I whiff, over the sweat and the barbecue sauce, is school - the kind of pulse bullyboys give off when they spot a quiet one, a wordsmith, in a corner. Imagine a choreographed reality TV taken to extreme, and then have someone create a parody of it and that’s what Vernon God Little is.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. Lally's people seize Vernon, turn him over to Federal marshals, and he lands in the Harris County lock-up for the summer.

Lone star | Books | The Guardian Lone star | Books | The Guardian

Unfortunately, most of Pierre's characters are, at best, two-dimensional and it's not always clear whose side he's on, who is being satirised and for which sins.I can admit satire on media trial had some brilliant elements and Vernon frequently makes some good observations but, in the end, it was more like a shadow of a real book. We publish a Literature Newsletter when we have news and features on UK and international literature, plus opportunities for the industry to share. Vernon's attempt to tell the whole truth fails, however, when the State produces Pelayo's affidavit, which provides no alibi, because Vernon uses an alias in Mexico.

Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre | Guardian first book award

Beyond the body-bags and barbecue sauce, the vicissitudes of Vernon reveal not just a rebel for the Eminem generation, but a boy of such sweetness he makes death row a respectable address. I also felt the voice of the protagonist like Holden in 'Catcher in the Rye'(which even I asked DBC Pierre and his reply was 'there was a big gap between the generations) and the movement of story(Which looked to me like 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus: As Vernon in last got the death sentence same as the protagonist in 'The stranger'). If all fiction seeks to convince you of its own paradigm -- or "Powerdime" in Vern-speak -- this one succeeds. Deputy Gurie tears a strip of meat from a bone; it flaps through her lips like a shit taken backwards.

The life of Vernon Little, a normal teenager who lives in Martirio, Texas, falls apart when his best friend, Jesus Navarro, murders their classmates in the schoolyard before killing himself, and Vernon is taken in for questioning.