VERNON GOD LITTLE: A 21ST CENTURY COMEDY IN THE PRESENCE OF DEATH

London, England: Faber & Faber, 2003. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. London, England: Faber & Faber, 2003. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 279 pages. The author's breakthrough debut novel. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents DBC Pierre's "Vernon God Little: A 21st Century Comedy In The Presence of Death". His breakthrough first book. It became a huge success abroad, but was ignored in the United States by the big publishing houses (it was eventually published by a small press called Canongate) . The New Yorker Magazine compared the book, very favorably, to J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher In The Rye". The basis for the comparison is primarily the eponymous character who, like Holden Caulfield, is a smart and frustrated teenager. He believes the world around him is completely synthetic and anesthecized by a confluence of malevolent forces: Tabloid television, consumer-culture idiocy, Americans' obsession with the suffering of others as their way of denying their own, conspicuous consumption (as exemplified by Corporate America and Wall Street) , and image consciousness (as exemplified by mass-media advertising and "branded" personalities) . If Vernon sounds way too intelligent and aware for his age, Joyce Carol Oates quickly points out that the novel's greatest strength is the author's "flawless ear for adolescent-boy speech. To his young narrator, virtually every adjective is 'f-----' and every vision of every adult is laced with repugnance, especially those adults in authority. Vernon is a Holden Caulfield on amphetamines. 'Vernon God Little' is raucous and brooding, coarse and lyrical, corrosive and sentimental in about equal measure and in the right way" (Joyce Carol Oates) . DBC Pierre is the pseudonym of Peter Warren Finlay, who was born in Australia, raised in the United States and Mexico, and now divides his time among London, Sydney, and Dublin (DBC stands for "Dirty But Clean") . His book was considered a long shot for the Booker Prize, but when it was announced as the winner, the judges hastened to add that the vote took "less than an hour to decide and was unanimous". An absolute "must-have" title for DBC Pierre collectors. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. Winner of the Booker Prize for "Vernon God Little" in 2003. One of the most brilliant new voices in contemporary literature. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER COPY OF THIS TITLE IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0571215157.