Sunday Book Talk: “Gods Behaving Badly,” by Marie Phillips

Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel by Marie Phillips
Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel
Marie Phillips (author’s blog)
Back Bay Books, 2008 (paperback) (ISBN 0316067636 / 9780316067638)
Fiction, 320 pages

First Sentence: One morning, when Artemis was out walking the dogs, she saw a tree where no tree should be.

Book description: Being immortal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Life’s hard for a Greek god in the 21st century: nobody believes in you any more, even your own family doesn’t respect you, and you’re stuck in a delapidated hovel in north London with too many siblings and not enough hot water. But for Artemis (goddess of hunting, professional dog walker), Aphrodite (goddess of beauty, telephone sex operator) and Apollo (god of the sun, TV psychic) there’s no way out…Until a meek cleaner and her would-be boyfriend come into their lives, and turn the world literally upside down.

Comments:  This has been a pretty popular novel among the book-blog community (see the links at the end of this post), and I’ve been looking forward to reading it for a few months. I’m glad I didn’t wait longer, and I have to agree with most of the other reviews; Gods Behaving Badly is the most fun I’ve had with a book in quite a while.

The Greek gods are still alive, but not entirely well, after several centuries of exile in a decaying London town house. Their powers have weakened, their father and leader Zeus hasn’t been seen in decades, and the gods and goddesses are getting by doing what they can. Fortunately, they really don’t need to spend money on food, since they don’t eat, but their communal-living arrangement isn’t exactly harmonious – behind-the-back plotting and revenge are what keep them going.

It wouldn’t be fair to call the characters in Gods Behaving Badly one-dimensional, but in keeping with mythological tradition, each has his or her main area of responsibility and isn’t really all that interested in anything else, other than one-upping each other. They interact with mortals when they have to – or when they want to cause trouble for each other, which is what sets the plot in motion here.

Annoyance with Apollo causes Aphrodite to enlist her son Eros’ help in a plot to make Apollo fall into unrequited love with the first mortal woman he sees – and who, not long after he sees her, becomes the family’s house cleaner. The fact that Alice is not permitted to talk about her job strains her relationship with her would-be boyfriend, Neil, who tries to find out about it anyway. Much drama ensues, including domestic warfare, rejection, a trip to the underworld, and the disappearance of the sun – and yet, it’s all very funny drama.

I’m a little weak on my Greek mythology, but Marie Phillips seems to have a good grasp of it, and she makes clever use of it in a very modern setting. The writing is sharp and witty, and the mortal characters in particular are quite likable. Gods Behaving Badly was a quick and engaging read, and I’ll be interested in seeing what Phillips does in her next novel.

Rating: 3.75/5

Buy the book:

Other bloggers’ reviews:
Sophisticated Dorkiness
Book-a-rama
Diary of an Eccentric  
Savvy Verse & Wit
A Life in Books
Becky’s Book Reviews
Fizzy Thoughts
The Boston Bibliophile
A Novel Menagerie 

If you have reviewed this book, please leave your link in the comments or e-mail me at 3.rsblog AT Gmail DOT com, and I’ll edit this review to include it.

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16 comments

  1. Ti – It was very enjoyable, and I definitely would recommend it.

    Kim – My husband is reading it right now, and says he likes it so far.

    Sheri – I’ve edited the post to add your review link. Thanks, and sorry I missed it on my original search!

    Ruth – There are some racy parts, but I think that’s true of mythology as well (once you get past studying it in middle school, at any rate). If that wouldn’t bother you, you might want to get hold of a copy :-).

  2. J. Kaye – So you are. I can see you here, but not in the Followers list on my Blogger dashboard, which was where I looked first. Sorry for the false alarm!

  3. You’ve been reading all the fun books lately. 🙂 I am looking forward to this one. My dad took a mythology class when I was a child and he loved sharing his new found knowledge with my brother and I. I wonder how much of that will come back when I do read this one. Great review, Florinda!

  4. Wendy (Literary Feline) – I agree, I lucked out with a couple of fun ones in a row :-). The streak has been broken, though, which isn’t to say I haven’t been reading good stuff, just that it isn’t as much fun. I suggest you bump this one up the TBR chain – you can use some fun too :-D!

    Serena – I know you did; your review was one that convinced me that I had to read it – thank you! And thanks for the link, too :-).