Description

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL 2018**

WHO IS VERNON SUBUTEX?

An urban legend.

A fall from grace.

The mirror who reflects us all.

Vernon Subutex was once the proprietor of Revolver, an infamous music shop in Bastille. His legend spread throughout Paris. But by the 2000s his shop is struggling. With his savings gone, his unemployment benefit cut, and the friend who had been covering his rent suddenly dead, Vernon Subutex finds himself down and out on the Paris streets.

He has one final card up his sleeve. Even as he holds out his hand to beg for the first time, a throwaway comment he once made on Facebook is taking the internet by storm. Vernon does not realise this, but the word is out: Vernon Subutex has in his possession the last filmed recordings of Alex Bleach, the famous musician and Vernon’s benefactor, who has only just died of a drug overdose. A crowd of people from record producers to online trolls and porn stars are now on Vernon’s trail.

Translated from the French by Frank Wynne

“Thrilling, magnificently audacious” Irish Times
“Brimming with sex, violence and deviant behaviour” Sunday Times
“Virginie Despentes’s Vernon Subutex trilogy is the zeitgeistiest thing I ever read” NELL ZINK

Publisher Review

A vast mural of the world today. We all knew Despentes could write, but we were not expecting this -- Frederic Beigbeder * Figaro magazine * A mind-blowing portrait of contemporary French society -- Nelly Kaprielian * Les Inrocks * A masterful blending of characters, voices and plots with an undeniable sense of changing rhythms. This is not just a novel, it's an electrocardiogram -- Etienne de Montety * Figaro * Sex, drugs and 90s punk rock: Vernon Subutex is the Comedie Humaine for our time, produced by the furious talent of Virginie Despentes -- Laurence Houot * Culturebox * Part social epic, part punk rock thriller, Vernon Subutex is a remarkable portrait of contemporary society... written with a fury that hits right to the bone -- Christine Ferniot * Telerama * Vernon Subutex is a great novel because, quite simply, it disturbs you. Despentes is an extraordinary writer -- Francois Busnel * Express * An energetic, diverting romp . . . Brimming with sex, violence and deviant behaviour . . . [and] a multitude of sharply delineated characters . . . Often surprises us with its psychological acuity. -- David Mills * Sunday Times. * Disturbing and compelling . . . I loved and hated Vernon but I couldn't leave him alone . . . Relentlessly brilliant. Reading it was like being on a runaway train - you know it will probably end in disaster but you might as well enjoy the thrill of the ride - it's unputdownable. -- Victoria Hislop An enthralling read. The story of one man, one city, it speaks of our entire world. A compelling, vital read, beautifully and vibrantly translated. -- Nell Leyshon Bold and sophisticated, this thrilling, magnificently audacious picaresque is about France and is also about all of us; how loudly we shout, how badly we hurt. It is the story of now. -- Eileen Battersby * Irish Times *