Big Snake Little Snake, by DBC Pierre is a complex narrative that interweaves personal memoir with philosophical musings, examining the interplay of chance, risk, and gritty life experiences. The book offers a unique exploration of these themes, but overall its execution is underwhelming, especially for a former Booker Prize (2003) author.
Pierre’s central premise is intriguing. He likens gambling to plugging one’s finger into an exhilarating electric socket, a cheap way for human consciousness to access (or at least touch upon) the otherwise incomprehensible influence that chance has upon our lives, the universe and beyond.
The book delves into the relationship between odds, negotiation and price setting, asserting that odds often fail to provide an accurate framework for the latter. Ultimately however, Pierre’s attempt to retrofit anecdotes into this odd paradigm, and to then reconcile that paradigm into something more esoteric, almost spiritual, results in a stuttering narrative that struggles to convince. Whilst the experiences he recounts from Trinidad and Tobago aren’t irrelevant to his adventurous ideas, their inclusion feels overly-selective and a bit cute.
While Pierre’s introspective moments provide insight into the complexities of human existence, the book frequently veers into unsupported scientific territory, fusing and seemingly confusing concepts from maths, physics and quantum physics. The absence of clear mathematical or scientific explanations undermines the credibility of the connections he draws between probability and personal experiences.
An exercise in catharsis?
Throughout the narrative, Pierre hints at his struggles with gambling addiction, revealing a vulnerable side that adds depth to the story. Yet, this potentially rich theme is offset by Pierre stubbornly insisting upon romanticism, not only in describing what sounds like a run-of-the-mill gambling problem but also his linguistic and conceptual gymnastics, using terms like “sub-cascades” and “cascadelettes”.
Ultimately whimsical, but not incisive
Despite its shortcomings, the book does at times pique your interest – whilst some of the ideas are expressed in overly-romantic or ambitious terms, in essence they’re the very same that fuel burgeoning gaming and gambling markets, which proof-positive compel many millions of Australians each year to lose billions of dollars. On occasion Pierre’s indulgent description of gambling – i.e. staking an asset on chance – feels like it’s about to crack the code of this hithero confounding phenomenon. Ultimately it leaves more questions than answers.
DBC Pierre’s “Big Snake Little Snake” is an ambitious literary venture that blends personal narrative with profound questions about chance and risk. While it offers glimpses of interest, insight and introspection, its lack of structure, unsupported scientific claims, and forays into gratuitous complexity render it a challenging read. Nevertheless, for those especially intrigued by the intersection of chance and human existence, it offers some interesting ideas.
