Vernon God Little

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Vernon God Little
Author DBC Pierre
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre(s) Black comedy
Publisher Faber and Faber
Publication date 20 January 2003
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 288 pp (hardcover edition)
288 pp (paperback edition)
ISBN ISBN 0-571-21515-7 (hardcover edition)
ISBN 0-571-21516-5(paperback edition)
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Vernon God Little is the debut novel of Australian-born author DBC Pierre (real name Peter Warren Finlay).

Contents

[edit] Plot introduction

The title character is a fifteen-year-old boy who lives in a small town in the U.S. state of Texas. When his friend Jesus Navarro commits suicide after killing sixteen bullying schoolmates, suspicion falls on Vernon, who becomes something of a scapegoat in his small hometown of Martirio. Fearing the death penalty, he goes on the run to Mexico.

The book satirizes trailer park residents, the media, and most of all, those who believe that life in the United States is just like what they see on the TV news. The Booker Prize judges described it as a "coruscating black comedy reflecting our alarm but also our fascination with America".[1]

[edit] Awards and nominations

Published in 2003, the novel was awarded the Man Booker Prize for Fiction which included the £50,000 prize. Upon winning the prize, Pierre said that the money was "a third of what I owe in the world" and promptly used it to repay old debts.[1]

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

In 2005, Variety reported that Pawel Pawlikowski was working on producing a film adaptation of the book, with FilmFour Productions.[2] Rufus Norris will direct a stage adaptation at the Young Vic theatre, opening May 2007 and starring newcomer Colin Morgan as Vernon.[1]

[edit] Trivia

  • The character of Vernon as a troubled teenager has drawn comparisons with the character Holden Caulfield in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye novel.[3]
  • The German translation of the book is titled Jesus von Texas (Jesus of Texas).[4]
  • Formerly a conman, Pierre wrote the novel in London as a means of atoning for his activities in his youth, which included conning an elderly artist out of his home.
  • The town in which Vernon lives, Martirio, is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese word for martyrdom. The origin of this word is the Greek Martyrio.
  • Out of 4,000 Britons polled, 35% who started reading this book did not finish it.[5]
  • The book is written in contemporary vernacular - with the use of foul satirical language and a witty irony

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Author Pierre wins Booker prize", BBC, October 15, 2003. 
  2. ^ Adam Dawtrey. "Pawel Pawlikowski", Variety, Reed Business Information, January 18, 2005. 
  3. ^ Sam Sifton. "Holden Caulfield on Ritalin", New York Times, November 9, 2003. 
  4. ^ Steven Zeitchik. "As American as... German Translations?", Publishers Weekly, Reed Business Information, December 7, 2004. 
  5. ^ Harry Potter book 'often unread'. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Life of Pi
Man Booker Prize recipient
2003
Succeeded by
The Line of Beauty
Languages