D.B.C. Pierre: Vernon God Little

Reviewed by MARGIE THOMSON

"What kind of life is this?" Vernon G. Little wonders again and again in this stunning, hilarious, tragic debut novel.

Normality just ran screaming from Martirio, the barbecue sauce capital of Texas. Sixteen kids lie dead at Vernon's school, including his only friend Jesus, who shot himself after dealing to all his classmates.

But even though it seems a cut and dried case, the grief-stricken town is not satisfied. They need someone living to blame, and Vernon is it. He's hauled in by Deputy Vaine Gurie who, barbecue sauce dripping on to her name badge, makes it clear she's going to stick something on him - accessory to murder - and she's not interested in Vernon's claim of innocence. "Bothered folk are quick to judge," the sheriff confirms.

Television crews roam the streets. One cam-wielding CNN-wannabe is "Lally" Ledesma, who insinuates himself into the affections of Vernon's mother in order to get the scoop on Vernon.

All Vernon can think about is escaping to Mexico, preferably in the company of gorgeous Taylor Figuera.

Vernon is surrounded by selfishness and corruption and he moves through it all as a kind of imperfect innocent, an unlucky pilgrim trying to understand the world, armed only with empathy and a talent for spotting bullshit. Through his experience, the America of today emerges - and it's not a pretty sight, wallowing in a kind of deep dishonesty that Vernon's own desperate lies can never match.

The lardy locals of Martirio are diet-obsessed, yet never cease scoffing Bar-B-Chew ribs, love is "wuv" and seems always self-serving and uncommitted or a matter of glandular acids, material one-upmanship is a matter of course, the screen has become the dominant determinant of life, and private enterprise controls all processes.

Breakneck wit skid-marks these pages, yet the pain, when it comes, is astonishingly authentic. By the time the cameras are rolling, ready for Vernon's lethal injection, the story's climax looms like a concrete wall before a speeding car.

Faber and Faber, $34.95