Feb 20, 2004 01:26 AM
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(Updated Feb 20, 2004 01:26 AM)
I usually try to read all Booker/Pulitzer/Pen Faulkner winners and on occasion have discarded a few after the first couple of chapters since I could not make head or tail of what was written (Arundhati Roy's 'God of Small Things' being one so honoured by me)
Although I have not read the other shortlisted books for the 2003 Booker except for hot favourite Monica Ali's ''Brick Lane'' , I think DBC Pierre's satirical tale of modern day America was better than Monica Ali's book.
The story begins in the town of Martirio (described in the book as the barbecue sauce capital of central Texas) with Vernon Little suspected of being accessory to the massacre of 16 school children perpetrated by his friend Jesus Navarro (after which Jesus turned the gun on himself).
Slowly and surely, he becomes the scapegoat for the crime and the town hungry for vengeance is goaded into crucifying Vernon by a news hack Eulalio who manipulates the events around Vernon so as to push him deeper into the mire.
Vernon manages to escape to Mexico where he is entrapped by his high school sex bomb acquaintance Taylor (who is in cahoots with Eulalio)
He stands in the dock accused of not only the 16 murders in the school but every recent murder in the state, the witnesses connecting him to the other murders due to his frequently splashed image on TV.
Ultimately he is saved by his own crap. Hows that you say ? Well to reveal that would be to give away the plot completely
DBC Pierre has come up with a good first book. He often philosphises at length and the reader would probably think that there at some point he is crossing the line between fiction and reality.
I do have serious issue with the book winning the Booker. Its good but its not THAT GOOD.
When I think of books like 'Life of Pi' , 'The English Patient' 'Midnights Children' & 'Schindlers Ark',which have won the Booker in the past, this book falls woefully short of expectations.
Still, the book is worth a read and although the first two chapters are a bit slack, the book tightens up later on.
