The words "I press the button not to change my history. I press it because no one tells my story" are from the main character in the novel " Vernon God Little" by DBC Pierre.

Although there are quite a few sharp jokes, provocations, bombastic slogans, and aggressive language in this story, this phrase seems the most emotional.

I finished reading DBC Pierre's debut book, for which he received the Booker Prize in 2003 (everyone was surprised, especially the author).

What exactly is happening, or why is the novel relevant? DBC Pierre takes up "balls and scissors" to dissect the sins and vices of a consumer society.

How does he do it? He does it unceremoniously, instead of making delicate incisions.

DBC is honest with his readers. He doesn't try to hide anything behind sophistries or say, "Watch my hands, or you'll miss the trick."

The novel is about Americans and Mexicans and the uncertain border between them (about racism and other -isms).

It's about inequality: the gap between those who are lazing around on vacation in Acapulco or constantly spending money on household junk and those who are willing to betray and lie for that (and even kill for recognition).

It's about the temptations of minors, about parents and children, about bullying among teenagers, and the tragedy of dozens of victims.

Although everything listed above is nothing without information manipulation. "Hello!" talk shows and voting on the Internet, "hello!" fakes, hate speech, and interference in private space.

There's no point in listing everything. It's noticeable if you go a little deeper into the story, but also on the outside - it's cleverly decorated with a plot where tragedy meets comedy.

"Vernon God Little" was recently published in Ukrainian, in a brilliant translation from English by Natalia Gonchar, by the Babylonian Library publishing house.

Väldigt underhållande och intresseväckande läsning. It truly captured my attention from start to finish. The content was engaging and filled with interesting facts and ideas. Kanske lite vulgärt språk, but that was just something I had to get used to. After a while, it didn't bother me as much. In fact, it added a certain charm to the reading experience.

Vernon God Little is a thought-provoking book that offers a unique perspective on how the rest of the world views America. It delves into the various aspects of society that seem to be amiss, such as the intrusive media, the materialistic lifestyle centered around TV, the attention seekers, the gossip mongers, and the alarming lack of regard for the sanctity of human life.

The story follows Vernon Gregory Little, a 15-year-old who becomes a living victim of a school shooting. People with ulterior motives are out to get him, and through the first-person narrative, we come to know that he is innocent and part of a dysfunctional neighborhood. The first half of the book is filled with Vernon's cussing and swear words, which almost challenges the reader to like him. However, amidst all the vulgarity, there are some profound observations and remarks that bring a smile and a sense of warmth. But unfortunately, they are not in a form that can be easily quoted.

One blurb claimed that there is a joke on every page, but I found myself wondering if I was reading a different book. While the book is indeed a satirical take, it is not meant to be a laugh-out-loud comedy. In fact, it seems more like a commentary on the darker side of human nature and society.

Almost all the characters in the book are extremely stereotypical. Vernon's mom is a mess, and her friends are the gossipy type. The town people are opportunistic, and the Mexican attorney is a caricature. I'm not sure if this is due to the first-person narrative or not.

In conclusion, while Vernon God Little is a quick read and a Booker winner, it is not a book that I truly enjoyed. It may have its moments of brilliance, but overall, it left me with a sense of unease and a realization that society has a long way to go in terms of its values and priorities.

This book was a strange delight.

From the moment I picked it up, I was intrigued by its unique charm.

The story unfolded in unexpected ways, taking me on a journey filled with mystery and wonder.

The characters were vividly drawn, each with their own quirks and personalities that made them truly come alive on the page.

The writing style was engaging and kept me hooked from beginning to end.

It was a book that I couldn't put down, yet at the same time, I didn't want it to end.

Even after finishing it, I found myself thinking about it for days, reflecting on the themes and messages it conveyed.

This book was truly a one-of-a-kind experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something different and exciting to read.

It's a strange delight that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

Vernon God Little is a truly challenging book to review. I had a complex love-hate-love relationship with it.

How did I discover it? I completed reading it in exactly 6 hours and 25 minutes. That's how captivating the story is. If you're planning to read it, I'd suggest not paying too much attention to this review. Just pick up a copy and start! You're in for a wild ride!

It begins in a rather unexpectedly sluggish manner. Several times within the first 80 pages, I almost abandoned it, deeming it unworthy of being finished. Then, the pace quickened, and my interest deepened.

The teenage narrator, Vernon Gregory Little, faces serious legal issues. He is accused of participating in a deadly shooting spree at his school in Martirio, Texas.

Pierre描绘Vernon的家乡是一个沉闷的地方，是州烧烤酱之都，充满了不成熟的人物。“我感觉这个该死的城镇的绞索在我的喉咙上收紧。”也许这反映了德克萨斯州的小镇情况，当Vernon逃往墨西哥时，这本书有了极大的改善。

“一阵高压震颤穿过我，充满了希望、兴奋和赤裸裸的恐惧。你认为我会留下来等待所谓的司法系统把事情弄好吗？”

Vernon可能犯有一些不当行为，比如在他的想法中夹杂着亵渎之词、藏匿毒品和色情物品或不尊重长辈，但他不太可能是凶手。然而，间接证据却越来越多。

背叛的打击很大。“‘作为Vernon的母亲，现在把你算作这场悲剧的受害者之一公平吗？’
‘嗯，我想我是一个受害者。我真的这么认为。’
‘然而你坚持认为Vernon是无辜的？’
‘哦，上帝，对母亲来说，孩子总是无辜的——嗯，即使是杀人犯也被他们的家人所爱，你知道的。’”

面对死刑的最坏情况，Vernon必须在法律、后勤和情感的迷宫中冲刺。他能在世界的险恶邪恶完全腐蚀他之前证明自己的清白吗？

“‘看，一开始每个人都因为我的朋友是墨西哥人而嘲笑我，然后又因为他很奇怪而嘲笑我，但我一直支持他。我认为友谊是一件神圣的事情——然后一切都变得糟糕透顶，现在我却因此受到惩罚。他们在扭曲每一个普通的小事实来证明我的罪行……’”

这本书的标题来自于适时的监狱建议。“‘不要仰望天空寻求帮助。看看这里，看看我们这些扭曲的梦想家。’他抓住我的肩膀，把我转过来，朝墙上的镜子打了我一拳。‘你就是上帝。承担责任。行使你的权力。’”

随着每一页的推进，Pierre用生动的细节推动故事的发展，比如：“Gurie的下巴像被醋射中蜗牛一样回缩”和“警长妻子的皱眉几乎到了她的胸部。那可真是很低了。”甚至更好的是：“我们的心跳沿着一排排扭曲的小屋追随着我们，经过悬挂着黄色灯光的临时门廊，进入小溪床，越过悬崖；我们像喷气发动机一样吸气，直到筋疲力尽。”

尽管书中穿插着有趣的时刻，但Vernon God Little也有严肃的一面，常常将较小的邪恶与较大的邪恶进行对比。在Vernon的内心和周围的世界里，良好的意图在艰难地抗争。

最终，Vernon的经历给人以人生教训。“我感觉到一种领悟：比你笨得多的人最终会掌权。看看事情的现状。我不是什么该死的天才之类的，但这些笨蛋却掌控着我的一举一动。我开始思考的是，也许在这个世界上只有笨蛋才是安全的，那些随波逐流、不思考每一件小事的人。但看看我？我必须思考每一件该死的小事。”

尽管我最初有所怀疑，但Pierre还是精心创作了一个聪明、甚至令人难忘的故事，一个值得获奖的故事。

附言：拼错一些单词可以给情况增添很多幽默。 :D

This is a challenging read, especially for those who are not familiar with the Texan way of talking. There are just too many words or phrases that I did not understand while reading, and it slowed down my pace. I even thought of dropping the book. However, remembering what my brother used to say that "tiring your eyes is actually reading because reading should have understanding", all these made the book less enjoyable. That's why I am rating this book with a 3 when it could have been an easy 4 or even 5.

But with the aid of Wiki, I was able to slowly but surely finish the book. I was able to follow the plot by "cheating" haha and referring to the book reviews both on and off Goodreads. Why not? At least I finished the book, and I thought I understood its message and appreciated its beauty.

Beauty this book really has. There is poetry in the prose, yet not the Hallmark-kind of beauty. The sentences are peppered with vulgarity, profanity, and obscenity. Yet, there are thought-provoking phrases (Texan vernacular maybe, but maybe not as long as it is beautiful) that will prompt you to stop and analyze and think about it for a second. For example,

“The problem with learning the truth about things is that you lose the confidence that comes from being dumb.”

This struck me most because it somehow delivered the message of the book.

The book's main protagonist, Vernon, is a 15-year-old boy who is suspected to be an accomplice, rather than a near-victim, of a mass shooting done by his friend Jesus. (That's the funny thing about this book. It is not blasphemy because in Mexico or even here in the Philippines, some parents think highly of their sons that they name them after our Good Lord Jesus.) Then for two-thirds or three-fourths of the book, Vernon depends on the people who he thought he could count on, only to be disappointed. It is only when he takes responsibility for his life (even at that tender age of 16) that he is able to control the situation and his life as a whole.

This book also tackles many ills that our society has: the proliferation of guns, teenage alienation, dysfunctional families, the justice system, and the role of media and the way they tweak the real events just to make money (that reminds me of "The Bonfire of Vanities"). The book is also compared to "Huckleberry Finn", and it does have some semblance because of Vernon's coming-of-age that coincides with his awakening in terms of truth and awareness of what's going on, inclusive of both good and bad, in this world. The teenage angst of Holden Caulfield in "Catcher in the Rye" is also evident, but Vernon's character has a transformation compared to the consistent characterization Salinger gave to Caulfield.

Overall, not my favorite Booker winner but worthy of the prize (I think). Well, I am still to read Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Cake", Monica Ali's "Brick Lane", Damon Galgut's "The Good Doctor", Zoe Heller's "Notes on a Scandal", and Clare Morall's "Astonishing Splashes of Color". My God, I have copies of all those, and I got them all from Booksale (a popular second-hand bookshop here in the Philippines).

Challenging read but worth your every minute. Just don't give it up in the middle. Finish it because the best "the redemption" is in the last part.

*Spoiler

A tragedy occurred in May. On this very day, at 10 am, I went to Pier and got the proofread and corrected draft from Tbilisi. Maybe if the author didn't know this, the result might not be as good as it is now. It's not because the text has any flaws (even if I didn't rate it, this is a DBC (dirty but clean) type, and 5 stars is still a compliment to this novel), but because a person just like Pier should write this book, a mix of our era's Holden Caulfield (in terms of character) and Joseph K (in terms of fate), whose real-life "should" transfer so fills the surrounding space that it's impossible, in the end, for this shadow to not reach this 16-year-old boy.

Just as "The Catcher in the Rye" is a cult novel for Salinger, "The Little Life of Vernon Genius" should also be for Pier, and it is indeed. Because this book was written by a man who tried many things on himself, was defeated many times, and finally, when everything was squeezed out together, he started writing about how you and I might be involved in the tragedy of a person we never knew. He started writing in a hut on the outskirts, surrounded by ten or so people. And it also continued, because the house was shabby and there was no computer, and he didn't even have a pen. So a very touching and era-appropriate novel came out, which is told in the voice of a simple, unremarkable man about the aesthetics and ethics of the contemporary world. About the world that a 16-year-old boy can fill, and despite Vernon's great struggle and self-torture, we must think that this boy really resembles the people who have become numb and no longer look. But how can a filled person have the desire to leave everything behind?!

So, if anyone asks Pier how he wrote such a wonderful book, he has every right to answer, "I suffered on the cross and prayed with tears, sir!"

In short, must-read!

P.S. I ordered this book two years ago, and due to the delay in delivery, I haven't finished reading it yet. It's still there! I don't know how I'll manage to finish all this so quickly, if I don't meet Pier.

Wow, this book truly appears to be of the love-it-or-hate-it sort, judging from the number of 1-star and 5-star ratings.

I'm going to take the middle ground and give it a 3, as there were aspects I both adored and loathed about it.

This novel won the Booker Prize in 2003, and many seem to think the British committee awarding the prizes was giving a big middle finger to America with this one. It doesn't paint the most flattering picture of American society. The story begins after a high school shooting, and the main character, Vernon, is suspected of being involved, although he is innocent. Every character in the book seems out to get him - every stereotypical, easily despised, uneducated, and dumb Texan character. There was so much unfairness towards Vernon that I had to stop reading right before bed as I got so worked up that I had trouble sleeping. Also, the last couple of sections of the book veered off in a strange 1984/Big Brother/"the American media is out of control" kind of direction that I wasn't expecting and found rather heavy-handed.

That being said, the narration is done in a great postmodern, funky, youthful voice (though not entirely convincingly American), and the character of Vernon is easy to root for. Pierre uses some fantastic descriptive language - a great example being: "Outside, a jungle of clouds has grown over the sun. They kindle the whiff of damp dog that always blows around here before a storm, burping lightning without a sound." And the first half of the novel, described by one critic as "Huckleberry Finn set on the Mexican-American border and written by the creators of South Park," was great fun. Overall, it's a mixed bag, but still a worthwhile read.

I started reading this book this afternoon on the plane. (

Infinite Jest was simply too large to fit into my laptop bag.) And I'm already well over halfway through it. It's like Huck Finn on acid, and the author's technical expertise is truly remarkable. (

Who could have imagined coming up with a joke whose main essence is a confusion between Kant's doctrine of the Ding an Sich and the Schrödinger's Cat paradox? Making it a part of a narrative told by a 15-year-old hick who isn't doing well in school, and yet still having it be uproariously funny? Well, I can envision finding something similar in Infinite Jest as well, but there it would be filled with Latin-derived words and adorned with footnotes. (

Here, however, it's presented in plain Anglo-Saxon, and that makes it all the better. It's refreshing to have such complex ideas presented in a more accessible language, allowing for a wider range of readers to fully appreciate and enjoy the humor and depth of the story.

Much dumber people than you end up in charge. Look at the way things are. These spazzos are in charge of my every move. What I'm starting to think is that only the dumb are safe in this world. They are the ones who roam with the herd, without thinking. It seems as if intelligence and independent thought are not valued. This is a sad state of affairs that makes one question the fairness and rationality of the world we live in.

It is DBC Pierre's genius to give us such an outrageously unlikable character. The character is so foul that one staunch reviewer admits to throwing the book against the wall after the first chapter. I can empathize with that reaction. I did the same, only I threw it on the floor. But, fortunately, I kept encountering it there and decided to give it another go. And that was a good thing because between fits of outrage, there are deep gems hidden within the story.

What I need is some angry poetry, but you can't buy that stuff (here). It's as if it's some kind of rare and precious commodity, like an animal sex doll or something. It's frustrating that such a cathartic and powerful form of expression is not easily accessible.

The only antidote, it seems, is to just stay depressed. This is a rather bleak conclusion, but it reflects the sense of hopelessness and disillusionment that pervades the narrator's life. It makes one wonder if there is any way out of this cycle of negativity and despair.

Huckleberry Finn meets South Park at the Mexican - American border.

I came across a review from the SF Chronicle that depicted this book in such a way, and it's truly difficult to enhance upon. Nevertheless, I'll make an attempt anyhow. Or at least I'll provide a bit more elaboration.

It's an outrageously hilarious journey as the author guides you through ever more insane situations that are just believable enough for you to get engaged. If you are extremely offended by the seven words that are prohibited on television, then it's advisable to stay away from this one. The vulgar-mouthed narration is part of what makes you convinced that this is being related by a teenage boy. And it's also part of what reveals to you the satirical essence of this adventure.

There is a charming (albeit slightly warped) theme of redemption through giving people what they desire, which I have often contemplated when dealing with my more challenging clients and colleagues.

The story is fast-paced, tackles dangerous issues, is completely irreverent, and is laugh-out-loud funny.

So, why not give it five stars? Probably just because I'm rather stingy.

[EDIT 31/07/20: Brought this down to one star because the more I think about it the angrier I get. This book really sucked and in hindsight nothing makes up for how edgy and stupid it was. I feel kind of embarrased to have read it and I consider the author putting that line about ice cream squeezed through panties into my head as a serious offense. If duels were still the done thing, I might well demand one over this.]

I really don't know what to make of this book. The story had its interesting aspects, and there were parts that I either enjoyed or that evoked some kind of emotion in me. However, there was also this underlying sense of irritation that I couldn't quite shake off. I'm not entirely sure why this was the case.

I think it's probably at least partially due to the fact that I didn't really like any of the characters. Vernon didn't really grow on me until Act IV, when he seemed to mature a little, started speaking more normally, and stopped being so disgustingly vulgar. Other than that, everyone else was either pointless, irritating, or annoying, and it really frustrated me.

I know (or hope) this book is supposed to be satire, but in my opinion, it's not a very good one. I've read other satires about American life that were really over the top, hyperbolic, and ridiculous, but they still worked. This one just didn't for me. It felt too forced and edgy, as if the author was trying too hard to be smart and edgy. The whole thing was a bit pretentious, to be honest. The situations were just too ridiculous. For example, Lally was cartoonishly evil, and the whole trial was a complete mess. It was impossible for me to suspend my disbelief.

As I mentioned earlier, this book was overly edgy. It tried to shock by being extremely gross and stupidly perverted. There were three blatant paedophiles who got away with it until it was convenient for the plot to expose them. There were several graphic descriptions of sexual assault, and Vernon was completely obsessed with girls' underwear, constantly mentioning them in often disgusting detail. The book seemed to be more interested in the smells and what was going on behind girls' underwear than in anything else. It was just gross and annoying.

So, what was good about it? Well, Vernon's character did improve a little towards the end, and he became more enjoyable to read about. Some of the writing was humorous, and some of the satire was quite on point. There were also some truly emotional moments, and I liked how Vernon dealt with what his friend had done. The writing style, when not being used to describe the smells of vaginas or Vernon's bodily functions, was unique and created some impressive descriptions and fluid prose. I can see why some people might love this book, but ultimately, I found it annoying and immature, with an undercurrent of pretentiousness.