Vernon God Little
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Vernon God Little is the debut novel of Australian born author D.B.C. Pierre (real name Peter Warren Finlay). Formerly a conman, Pierre wrote the novel in London as a means of atoning for his activities in his youth, which included conning an elderly artist out of his home.
Published in 2003, the novel was awared the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Upon winning the prize, Pierre said that the money was "About half of what I owe the world" and promptly used it to repay old debts.
The title character is 15 years old and talks like a character from South Park or The Simpsons. When his friend Jesus Navarra kills 16 of his schoolmates before turning his gun on himself, suspicion falls on Vernon. Fearing the death penalty, he goes on the run.
The book satirises trailer park residents, the media, and most of all, those who believe that life in the United States is just like what they see on the TV news. The Booker Prize judges described it as a "coruscating black comedy reflecting our alarm but also our fascination with America".