Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: Vernon Gregory Little grows up in a small town in Texas with a father that has mysteriously disappeared and a mother and her friends that are obsessed with food and luxury goods. His only friend is a rather weird guy called Jesus. When Jesus shoots almost all their class members before killing himself, things start to go wrong for 15-year old Vernon. The whole town turns into a media circus and somehow people get the idea that Vernon at least helped his friend. One reporter even starts a relationship with Vernon's mother to get inside information. In the end Vernon decides to flee to Mexico, but he gets caught there and is transported to Houston, now charged with about every murder that happened in Texas over the summer. He ends up on death row where the reporter, who is now a star, crosses his path again with a reality soap in which viewers can vote who has to be killed. But in the end Vernon gets his revenge...This book left me with very mixed feelings: the description of small town life in Texas is at times hilarious, the influence of television on the perception of people is revealing (and probably mainly true), but the fact that charges against Vernon are not based on any facts at all (and are actually contrary to everything that happens) are at times so irritating that I actually had to put the book away a few times. Also, the grudge that the reporter holds against Vernon remains completely incomprehensible. A strange book, but well written.
Rating: 
Summary: The Noose is Tightening
Review: Vernon is a typical American teenage boy living in Martirio, Texas. He spends a lot of time fantasizing about the panties of a particular girl. He suffers the abuse of dominant social groups at his high school. He struggles to maintain a sense of normality in his broken home. Only one day his friend Jesus reaches his breaking point and things get out of hand. Suddenly Vernon is caught in a maelstrom of controversy when the nation in its grief points a guilty finger. He must justify his innocence by wading through the media-hype determined to crucify him without the help of his friends and family who are caught up in their own banal problems. Vernon sets out on a surreal escape from America. Pierre creates a highly original voice in this dark, funny and incredibly clever novel. The structure is somewhere between satire and a dream-like logic where Vernon stumbles upon a number of colorful characters that distract him from his goal. While Vernon himself isn't especially likeable, his commentary on America with all his clever twists of language is hilarious to read. Vernon and his mother have an uncomfortable but loving relationship. While on death row, Vernon's mother is more concerned about the delivery of a new almond toned refrigerator. Vernon's ongoing analysis of the relationship between mother and son is devastating. More than its political commentary, I think this novel makes a powerful statement about familial relations. There has been a lot of attention paid recently to gun control and high school massacres. Pierre manages to make a moving statement about American values using the voice of a decidedly average boy caught in extraordinary circumstances. This isn't a cynical treatise. For all it's bitterness, Vernon God Little has a lot of hope.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: An excellent book full of witty dark comedy. Written in the tradition of 'My Fractured Life' and 'American Psycho.' Fans of such dark humor classics will love 'Vernon God Little.'
Rating:
Summary: Full of Fire and Fun
Review: I first leafed through the pages of "Vernon God Little" at my library and couldn't help but laugh out loud at some of the reflections on society and the dialogue of our fifteen year old anti-hero Vernon. I quickly grabbed up a copy of my own and delved into it with zeal. This is fiction in fine form, witty and comical with a dry sarcastic commentary on the state of our proud(?) union. Written with a style and clarity that seems to point out the ridiculousness of America's obsession with reality TV, "Vernon God Little" screams of the same mockery and dramatic flair as Rikki Lee Travolta's equally wicked "My Fractured Life" and Brett Easton Ellis's fiery "American Psycho." Pierre has declared war on poor taste and political correctness and given us a front row seat.
Rating:
Summary: A Dark Delight
Review: In the grand tradition of Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer," S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders," J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye," and Rikki Lee Travolta's "My Fractured Life" D.B.C. Pierre has created a astonishing story based in scheme and off centered sensibilities of unbalanced youth. "Vernon God Little" raps us up in the world of fifteen year old Vernon Little of Maritiro, Texas in an adventure to rival the mishaps of Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" or Hinton's "The Outsiders" but with the dark humor of Twain's classic "Tom Sawyer" and Travolta's modern "My Fractured Life." The subtlety of the dark humor may be lost on some, but for those who enjoy such play in the dark recesses of the mind, "Vernon God Little" will be a dark delight.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book!!!
Review: I picked this book up at an airport in India, and I have to say it's the best book I've read in years.. and I read a lot! The narrator, Vernon "God" Little, is the most genuine and sympathetic character I've ever encountered in fiction. I was completely caught up in his struggle, and I really, really wanted him to have a happy ending. Be warned: The comedy is black, and fully explores the sordid underbelly of modern American life. The women are all obese and fixated on the latest diet fads. The media are a pack of jackals, and actively worsen the tragedy for their own profit. The criminal justice system is an absurd sort of game show with someone's life hanging in the balance. Perhaps these are exaggerations, but isn't that the purpose of satire? At any rate, any trip through Texas or flip through cable TV channels will show that the novel isn't as exaggerated as we might like to think. The book features stellar writing and a fine tweaking of American sensibilities. I can't recommend this outstanding book highly enough, especially those who enjoy black satires (i.e., "Happiness" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse," Ellis' "American Psycho," or Hunter S. Thompson spring to mind.)
Rating:
Summary: Don't Bloody Care Pierre!
Review: On the plus side, there are some great jokes and some marvellous bits of wordplay. The negatives are the slightly tired stereotypes of Americans and the VERY tired descriptions of Mexico. I also found the ending rushed and a little too neat. I certainly enjoyed reading the book (it's a 21st century Catcher in the Rye) but I wouldn't bother re-reading it and will probably never think about it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Rubbish
Review: I read this book in Britain as an American before it won the Booker, and I was disappointed. English critics were toting it as the next Confederacy of Dunces--my favorite novel. What we get is a book that shows a total ignorance for smalltown Texas, teenagers in general, and the American voice (which I guess would more accurately be called American dialects...whatever). Prevalent are the neverending standby down-with-Americans jokes: fat people, guns, and warped justice. What this book is about--and the reason why the British critics hailed it--is undermining America in a time when it is both easy and attrative to those who oppose George Bush, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, globalization, etc., etc. I oppose George Bush, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, globalization, etc., etc., but I'm also an American, so this probably makes me exempt from truly appreciating it. I'm a real sucker for satire, but only when it's done well. Give me Confederacy of Dunces or Vonnegut or Dave Chapelle or Ricky Gervais, even the League of Gentlemen, but please don't give me more of this stuff by D.B.C. (Dirty But Clean, according to an interview I read with him) Pierre. I can't say it's all bad, of course, so I'll add that I enjoyed Palmyra and her love for the Bar-B-Chew Barn.
Rating:
Summary: A modern Huck. Finn, stick with it , its an excellent read
Review: This is an exceptional book. I hated the first fifty pages, as it starts in the aftermath of a catastrophe, but is very unclear as to what exactly happened. The narrative is first
person, in the words of teenager Vernon Little and he can be quite tiresome to listen too. I also felt it was shaping up to be 'a poor white kid gets put upon by life', kind of read - which in fact it turns out to be, but in a wonderful, quirky, unpredictable kind of way.
Gradually, you find, through Vernon's narrative, that he is essential a loyal child to his mother, though betrayed by her and almost all the adults with whom he comes in contact. His sense of confusion, alienation but his fundamental humanity come across in the latter half of the book, once you get your bearings on the viewpoint of the narrative.
I won't give away the story, but realize there is a happy ending and that, like the best books, it takes some time to acclimate. Once you get to know Vernon Little and his world, you will recognize him as a friend, and a classic literary character of our era.
There are two weak points about the book in my opinion, one general one about the media manipulation of a tragedy - a thoroughly modern point, but made rather unrealistic by exaggeration. The media figure represented in the book was so thoroughly manipulative and corrupt as to be one-dimensional. The other weak point, I think, is the happy ending - it comes from nowhere in the last number of pages, a little too quick for my taste. Overall, I can't rate the book highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: I must be missing something
Review: It's obvious that I must have a screw loose considering how everyone on this page seems to be hailing "Vernon." Right now, I find myself cursing my book club for selecting this irritating and frustrating garbage. Are these characters meant to be gross caricatures or is that just accidental? Is any of this supposed to be believable? Could a 15-year-old from a backwater town possibly have these profound insights into the human condition? And could this book, which has won the Booker Prize, possibly stand the test of time? I think not.
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