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I Am God
by
Diabolically funny and subversively philosophical, Italian novelist Giacomo Sartori’s I am God is the diary of the Almighty’s existential crisis that ensues when he falls in love with a human.
I am God. Have been forever, will be forever. Forever, mind you, with the razor-sharp glint of a diamond, and without any counterpart in the languages of men. So begins God’s diary of ...more
I am God. Have been forever, will be forever. Forever, mind you, with the razor-sharp glint of a diamond, and without any counterpart in the languages of men. So begins God’s diary of ...more
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Kindle Edition, 142 pages
Published
February 5th 2019
by Restless Books
(first published May 26th 2016)
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narcissistic, misogynist, sex-obsessed male voice of the 'divine' condemning narcissistic misogyny of sex-obsessed human males. god doesn't care for the church and religion? wow! how subversive! we get it, you're not human - you don't have to have an aside every time you use a human figure of speech (multiple times a page, sometimes multiple times a sentence). full of repetitive diatribes - god doesn't really seem to have a lot of interesting things to talk about, and just rambles on bitterly ab
...more
The narrator, God, is insufferable in this novel. Terribly unlikable. Actually, none of the characters are likeable, except maybe Daphne. All the men are described as pervs.
I got through it. There's a lot of stuff in here about environmentalism and its a little preachy and tedious.
I kept reading, thinking "Is this actually a good book and I just don't get it?" But this quasi-love story between God and a flawed human girl didn't cut it for me. And what's with God being so homophobic anyway? ...more
I got through it. There's a lot of stuff in here about environmentalism and its a little preachy and tedious.
I kept reading, thinking "Is this actually a good book and I just don't get it?" But this quasi-love story between God and a flawed human girl didn't cut it for me. And what's with God being so homophobic anyway? ...more
1.5 stars.
Who knew God was such a crashing bore?
Who knew God was such a crashing bore?
I didn't care for this. My problem with it, I think, is the character of God. He isn't panoramic enough. I remember an essay by Arthur Krystal in which he wrote the Christian God is more like the mayor of earth than lord of the cosmos. So is Santori's. For all His grand descriptions of the cosmos, the supernovas, colliding galaxies, black holes, and all the rest, He seems too preoccupied with earth which, we know, is insignificant in the scheme of things, not even a mote in God's eye.
We've all r ...more
We've all r ...more
I don't understand why God is homophobic in this 'novel'.
...more
I Am God by Giacomo Sartori.
Translated by Frederika Randall.
Review by Galen Weitkamp
It is said that God created everything: the Earth, the heavens, the lights in the sky, even space and time. But “created” isn’t really the right word for it. Creation is an action that takes place within time. One readily understands what it means to say that at one moment there was darkness and the next light. But what does it mean to say that at one moment there wasn’t time and the next moment there was? There ...more
Translated by Frederika Randall.
Review by Galen Weitkamp
It is said that God created everything: the Earth, the heavens, the lights in the sky, even space and time. But “created” isn’t really the right word for it. Creation is an action that takes place within time. One readily understands what it means to say that at one moment there was darkness and the next light. But what does it mean to say that at one moment there wasn’t time and the next moment there was? There ...more
Giacomo Sartori's I Am God (translated from the Italian by Frederika Randall) skewers religion, science and love through observations from the Almighty himself. God is moved to "describe my existence... in clumsy human language" through diary entries.
God is obsessed with Daphne, a scientist who is also a promiscuous, cross-burning atheist. He tries to remain neutral as he watches her (although strange accidents happen to the attractive scientist interested in her). God finally admits to himself, ...more
God is obsessed with Daphne, a scientist who is also a promiscuous, cross-burning atheist. He tries to remain neutral as he watches her (although strange accidents happen to the attractive scientist interested in her). God finally admits to himself, ...more
This is not so much a novel as a tone of voice.
Sartori's God is a veteran humblebragger, a ridiculous romantic, a terrible liar, vengeful but without his heart in it, and benevolent despite himself. He's omnipotent, but he talks about it like he's trying to impress you at a bar. He's contemptuous of humans, but he displays pretty much every single one of our tendencies. He's in love, but he's trying to play it cool, but he's unbelievably bad at playing it cool - not a skill an all-powerful being ...more
Sartori's God is a veteran humblebragger, a ridiculous romantic, a terrible liar, vengeful but without his heart in it, and benevolent despite himself. He's omnipotent, but he talks about it like he's trying to impress you at a bar. He's contemptuous of humans, but he displays pretty much every single one of our tendencies. He's in love, but he's trying to play it cool, but he's unbelievably bad at playing it cool - not a skill an all-powerful being ...more
Started out enjoyable, but eventually the cringey, try-hard anti-religious juvenile sentiments accrued and made it sort of unpleasant. I also think the decision to have God observe just one main narrative through-line was such a miscalculation. Either start out that story with an 'omniscient narrator' that you slowly and masterfully reveal as the actual Chief Omniscience themself (or rather, himself, because this God is such a dude), or have your narrator announce himself as God and have his nar
...more
What a strange and hilarious tale!
God never tires of telling us how he created everything and how he's in control. But then he feels that he has to, because lately he is not completely in control of his feelings (or whatever it is God has that is close to feelings).
He's been spending too much time enamored with an atheistic biologist who earns extra money by inseminating cows.
This God is not an exact figure we see in the bible, and he let's us know that. For example, he seems to really despise ...more
God never tires of telling us how he created everything and how he's in control. But then he feels that he has to, because lately he is not completely in control of his feelings (or whatever it is God has that is close to feelings).
He's been spending too much time enamored with an atheistic biologist who earns extra money by inseminating cows.
This God is not an exact figure we see in the bible, and he let's us know that. For example, he seems to really despise ...more
This is quite a funny book. And quite an intellectual feat. And quite a charming delight. And quite complex. And a great story.
God slowly falls in love with a human woman and, fairly quickly, falls out of love with her. His predicament as "deity in love" is highlighted by his self-knowledge, his own pleasure at the infinite depth of an active universe, and by his paradoxical scorn for human kind which, unique in creation, thinks, but never does anything right: seeks to build, but destroys const ...more
God slowly falls in love with a human woman and, fairly quickly, falls out of love with her. His predicament as "deity in love" is highlighted by his self-knowledge, his own pleasure at the infinite depth of an active universe, and by his paradoxical scorn for human kind which, unique in creation, thinks, but never does anything right: seeks to build, but destroys const ...more
This was a challenge to read. The narrator, God, wasn't believable or likeable. It was mildly amusing because god was obsessed with observing the troubled life of atheist only described as militaristic and a sex pervert. I wasn't that amused. God kept wondering why he wanted to even think let alone write down these complicated thoughts and, heavens, strange feelings. I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone. The author insults our intelligence even if you're a normal atheist.
...more
thoughts coming shortly
An interesting premise—and, yes, gorgeous cover—caught my attention but I found myself bored with God rather quickly.
Hilariously Profound
God with a sense of humor-much needed and appreciated!
Pleasantly unpredictable yet full of hope. I’m looking forward to reading more by this writer.
God with a sense of humor-much needed and appreciated!
Pleasantly unpredictable yet full of hope. I’m looking forward to reading more by this writer.
I agree with much of the reviews this book has received and also would like to note that before this book I had never thought the phrase “gum-colored gums” could be used as a description that many times.
In English this is called I Am God. When I tried to look it up on Goodreads there seemed to be hundreds of books with that title or a close variation. That's interesting. And the book is too. A small book with very short chapters. At first I thought it might be the type of book best enjoyed by a true religious believer, but as I went though it I realized how wrong that was. It is pretty sacrilegious, I think, although I am not the best judge.
In this tale, God watches certain humans and starts to ...more
In this tale, God watches certain humans and starts to ...more
50%, and calling it quits. At first it was funny and clever, but as it goes on I am finding it a bit tedious. Just not that into it.
i read this in translation and it made me laugh out loud in embarrassing places.
When I was a kid, I remember a lot was made of what-ifs. What if you could be invisible? What would you do? Where would you go? Where would you sneak to, in order to see things you weren't supposed to.
Take that idea, add an alpha and omega and you've got I Am God, a novel which f ...more
Honestly, I don’t like to watch some things human beings do. But as you can imagine there’s no roof nor wall nor duck blind nor sheet nor wile that stands in the way of a god; unfortunately I must put up with all of it.
Take that idea, add an alpha and omega and you've got I Am God, a novel which f ...more
'I am God. Have been forever, will be forever.' Thus starts God's journal- written wholly for himself (for who else could read it?). For the first time ever God might be in love- obsessed at the very least- and he is pissed. The tall atheistic scientist, Daphne, enchants and enthralls him. He can't stop watching her! It's madness! Ridiculous! Undignified! And yet.... and yet.... he can't tear his gaze from her. As she tries to improve on his creations- never giving him his due; as she m
...more
This slim volume is a love story, the diary of God. Or a god, which is how he (he identifies as male) refers to himself about equally, and implies the acknowledgment of other deities. Either way, this divine being finds himself in unfamiliar territory as he seems to fall in love with a human woman, one who is highly unlikely to fall prey to his charms and attentions. However, he feels compelled to pull her out of some bad situations and set her on a satisfying life path, a course of action that
...more
Takes a particular brand of narcissism to believe you can narrate a novel as God. Luckily Sartori proves to be just the narcissist for the job and convincingly embodies the disembodied power of his titular character.
The constant asides were a pain to read, but kept me ever reminded that this was an odd story. A god, the God, becomes infatuated with an atheist out of all possible creatures in the universe. The narrative focuses primarily on managing the feelings of a being that shouldn't even ha ...more
The constant asides were a pain to read, but kept me ever reminded that this was an odd story. A god, the God, becomes infatuated with an atheist out of all possible creatures in the universe. The narrative focuses primarily on managing the feelings of a being that shouldn't even ha ...more
Such Fun! This is both wickedly funny and intellectually and emotionally satisfying--and challenging--on many levels as well. God roams the vast galaxies marveling at what he has created and bemoaning the hubris of “(wo)man” (as he always puts it), but is irrationally drawn to Earth and to humans and their foibles--and to one apparently unremarkable Italian woman in particular. I didn’t always know when the opinions the author put in God’s mouth were tongue in cheek or his (the author’s) own vie
...more
Okay, so there's a spoiler alert here as the ending is the thing that annoyed me the most.
So, the good thing about this book is that it's beautifully written. I enjoyed the author's use of prose and poetry as a way to display "God's" point of view and way of thinking. In that sense, this was a delightful read.
What I didn't like was the bare fact that "God" is basically kind of a misanthropic brat with a touch of anecdotal homophobia. I'd be fine with all that (as this is a satire), but the way t ...more
So, the good thing about this book is that it's beautifully written. I enjoyed the author's use of prose and poetry as a way to display "God's" point of view and way of thinking. In that sense, this was a delightful read.
What I didn't like was the bare fact that "God" is basically kind of a misanthropic brat with a touch of anecdotal homophobia. I'd be fine with all that (as this is a satire), but the way t ...more
Giacomo Sartori writes an original first-person perspective of the Almighty in love. The text focuses on the words of God, and his self-assured infallibility. This is soon brought into question as he/she confesses that he/she has fallen for one of his/her own creations, a young woman. Chapters alternate between the scope of God's responsibilities and the actions of his interest, Daphane. We learn of God's frustrations with this situation, and his/her general opinion of humans as a scourge of the
...more
"Most things (wo)men do are peculiarly in accord with the way they like to be seen.
They spend most of their time misleading, pretending, feigning, and dissimulating.
Truth is, every human being is a shrewd professional liar, a seasoned actor capable of great performances.
Every species has a specialty; theirs is charlatanism.
In short, they were created defective, and things have only gone downhill with time.
I have to admit, though, at times they're entertaining. Not that a god needs amusement, God ...more
They spend most of their time misleading, pretending, feigning, and dissimulating.
Truth is, every human being is a shrewd professional liar, a seasoned actor capable of great performances.
Every species has a specialty; theirs is charlatanism.
In short, they were created defective, and things have only gone downhill with time.
I have to admit, though, at times they're entertaining. Not that a god needs amusement, God ...more
I really liked the cover of this book and it looked like a quick and quirky read. I was a bit disappointed, though, because it didn't seem to go anywhere. It is amusing to imagine if God were a character writing a book, but he was just obsessed with this woman and it became more of a silly "love" story, especially as he runs away after things don't work out with her and pretends it never happens. Parts of it were good and I thought the translation was nice because it put forward the feel of Ital
...more
I'm a little disappointed in God: he's pretty body-shamey and kinda homophobic near the end (but I mostly think that's out of jealousy).
Other than that, I agree with about 80% of this book in humans (specifically men) are trash, the Earth is dying, and God really needs to see a therapist. The concept for this book is great: it was funny, the footnotes were hilarious, I appreciated the shade towards the church, and wow, God is a drama queen. Like, ya need to chill. But there were parts--when desc ...more
Other than that, I agree with about 80% of this book in humans (specifically men) are trash, the Earth is dying, and God really needs to see a therapist. The concept for this book is great: it was funny, the footnotes were hilarious, I appreciated the shade towards the church, and wow, God is a drama queen. Like, ya need to chill. But there were parts--when desc ...more
“I am God, not a peeping Tom, or some kamikaze friar raring to detox the little planet from it’s poisonous techno-consumer drug habit, it’s allergy to transcendence in any shape or form, and it’s obsession with sexual gratification. She can copulate with whomever she wants, that godless creature with her far apart bird eyes. Let her be tortured in bondage gear or sodomized by a rhinoceros, it’s all the same to me. I’m going to calm down now, I thought, but in fact I was getting even more upset.”
...more
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