I'm giving it 3 stars though I'm torn because in some regards, I wanted to give it more. And in other regards, I wanted to give it less. So now it has all averaged out into mediocrity.

I must say when the folks tagged this book "humor", I guess they were referring to black humor. Because this book was definitely black. It's the story of a 15 year old boy who is wrongly accused of gunning down 16 classmates and his trials and tribulations as he attempts to convince others of his innocence.

The entire book is written in the first person and uses sort of this uneducated slang that also is rife with the f bombs. At first, the voice was sort of off putting, but there are passages that are absolutely brilliant in it as well. Pierre's metaphors and analogies are very, very fresh - - and that makes the book more interesting. They are also very raw.

The main character, Vernon, is extremely well developed, and you keep hoping against hope that he'll get out of the bind that he in . . .and Pierre just does NOT let you off the hook . . .I was very emotionally caught up in the notion that this innocent kid was being railroaded.

There's also deep social commentary on the role of the media in our society. And in this book, the media is four plus scary and powerful and also leading society into the dark depths of immorality.

The humor is very dark, but there's some very clever stuff . . .but not haa haa funny. More like ironic or sarcastic wit. The book even had an "unput downable" quality, but that really didn't kick in for me full force until the last 50 pages or so of the book. Ok, even as I write this, I'm thinking maybe I should give the book 4 stars, but I just have trouble handing out that extra star when I had to work so hard to grasp the language of the book and to really comprehend what was going on. This book just wasn't an easy read at all. And then, the language and the crassness and the rawness sort of combined to turn me off.

It's just not for the faint of heart.

All in all, if you are a literary reader looking for something fresh (this did win the Booker prize after all), yet challenging, I'd say go for it. If you are the type of reader who just wants to be entertained, then I'm afraid this won't be high on your list. ( )

This has to be one of my new favourites. In my honest opinion it is a masterpiece.
I'm no literary scholar or anything so I don't really know what I'm talking about, but the one author I was reminded of in parts would have to be Irvine Welsh, with its mix of horror and hilarity and that same inevitable train wreck-y feeling his books tend to give you. My gut certainly feels like it's taken a similar number of vicious punches during the reading process.

Not sure why this book isn't better known, but then I'm sure there are any number of modern classics I am blissfully unaware of. This one is pretty damn special, though. Don't be put off by the conversational style of narration - that's the only reason I can think of for its surprisingly low rating on here, but anyone who gives up on it for that reason isn't just shooting themselves in the foot, they're blowing it clean off at the ankle. ( )

In einer Amazon-Rezension habe ich einen Satz gefunden, der meine Gefühle für dieses Buch perfekt zusammenfasst: „Auch wenn hier auf amüsante Weise der Finger in die Wunde gelegt wird, ist dieser Roman eine von der Sprache her verstörende, auf Dauer nervige Lektüre.“ Vernon Little ist der beste Freund des Amokläufers Jesus gewesen. Obwohl er nicht einmal in der Nähe des Tatorts war, wird er in der Folge von den Medien und der Justiz zum Täter stilisiert. Das ist interessant und satirisch gut zu verwerten, aber ich konnte das Buch einfach nicht lesen, die Sprache hat mich wirklich abgestoßen ( )

Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre (2005)

Enjoying this book, with a mixture of sadness and laughter. ( )