Critical Mick

Reviews Free of Rules.

Reviews by the Clown that All Other Critics Want to Strangle with a Black Turtleneck

Vernon God Little
DBC Pierre
Faber and Faber, 2005

Bowling for South Park

I keep expecting the Man Booker to be awarded to solemn, pious, aristocratic works of serious art. But, always a welcome surprise, the The Master's of the literary world are always shortlisted while the grand prize is bestowed upon genuinely readable, original, memorable works like Life of Pi, True History of the Kelly Gang and The Remains of the Day.

Even with that nugget of literary knowledge, granting the 2003 Booker to County Leitrim resident DBC Pierre was a hell of a shock. I read his novel about the aftermath of a high school massacre in a small Texan town. The language matches Catcher in the Rye's vulgarity without its honesty or sincerity, the plot mirrors one of the saddest, least-amusing events in contemporary American history and every character is a caricature of fat-assed dumb DFA's. Vernon God Little reads like an episode of South Park.

So, criticalmick.com will judge it as one.

Enable your JavaScript and click each of the unlicensed South Park images below to view Mick's verdicts on Vernon God Little's Setting, Character, Plot and Philosophical Signifigance.

Setting
	Are the barbeque wings of this small Texas town tasty enough to make it fly? Alex Barclay covered the same territory equally well in Darkhouse and no one gave her any Bookers. One and a half scamps outta three.
Character
	Are these figures painted bold enough to be recognizable in drunken conversation? If someone exclaims, "They killed Vernon! The bastards!" do we automatically know what Vernon they're talking about? From Vernon to his ma to Lolly to Taylor Figaroa, the cast is amusing and colourful. There's no Stan among this bunch of Cartmans, but the residents of Vernon Little's small Texan town comprise a fine supporting cartoon cast.
Plot
	Are Vernon's adventures engaging? Do I care who is responsible for the atrocity? Do I care if the many wrongdoers receive their comeuppance? About average. Though the novel contains a little marijuana, no fugitive talking towel complicates the plot by smoking it and wandering off. Critical Mick says:Vernon God Little's conspiracy would have been better wrapped up in Towelly.
Philosophical Signifigance
	The title comes from Vernon Gregory Little's habit of assigning himself a "G" middle name that reflects his current status. God is not a focus. So, ultimately, there is little in the way of insight. South Park itself is good at bashing ideas down, rather than proposing new ones.

Like South Park, once adjusted to the fact that this is a low-fidelity parody which holds nothing sacred, Vernon God Little's experience passes so entertainingly that lines can be quoted to amigos when sharing a few pints and laughs. Also, it's good to see a major literary prize go to a whodunit.

Yes, I plunk my big fat Dumb F%&& American ass down in the Crime camp and will not be moved. Mass murder, with the true culprit unmasked only in the closing pages? Police investigation, reporters nosing around on their own, posses gathered and prime suspects fleeing toward Mexico? Courtroom sequences outta John Grisham and jail sequences outta Stephen King? Capital punishment, dead cops, secrets, hidden weapons, soil that shifts under characters as if dead bodies are buried thereunder? Vernon God Little is a mystery, one that pushes crime fiction in directions both bizarre and, to my twisted eyes, friendly.

Pierre's new book is out now. Ludmila's Broken English sounds like hottie Nicole Kidman's flick Brirthday Girl mashed into Matt Damon/Greg Kinear's Stuck on You. If I ever wake up in a Mexican roadhouse wearing third-hand clothes and a pair of retread tire sandals, finding my stiff drunken fingers curled around a copy, I will take it along with me for company on my own scandalous adventures.

I don't care what they say, either, Vern. Taking a good shite is one of the best experiences going.

Yo! This review and all content on the DFA Guide site are copyright 2006 Mick Halpin. All links to other sites and documents are copyright to whatever source wrote something cool enough for Mick to give it a referral. Try to claim them as your own work and bad karma will catch up with you, baby. Believe it.

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This Page Was Last Updated On 29 October, 2006.