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Gods Behaving Badly

Marie Phillips

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Dec 15, 2008 Serena rated it it was amazing

Marie Phillips' Gods Behaving Badly is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. What would the ancient gods of Greece and Rome do in today's 21st Century world? Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, a phone sex operator; Apollo, the God of the Sun, a television psychic; Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Chastity, a dog walker.

The gods have weakened since their days on high at Mt. Olympus, and they are all crammed into a dilapidated home in London, getting on one another's nerves. The conflic Marie Phillips' Gods Behaving Badly is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. What would the ancient gods of Greece and Rome do in today's 21st Century world? Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, a phone sex operator; Apollo, the God of the Sun, a television psychic; Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Chastity, a dog walker.

The gods have weakened since their days on high at Mt. Olympus, and they are all crammed into a dilapidated home in London, getting on one another's nerves. The conflict truly begins one night during a taping of Apollo's psychic show where Eros shoots a love arrow into Apollo's heart, leaving him powerless against his love for the next person entering his view. Unfortunately, that person happens to be a mortal named, Alice, who cleans the theater where the show is taped. Alice and her friend Neil, who both love one another but are too afraid to make a move, become the center of conflict in the gods' world.

Watching these gods cope with the 21st Century is a hilarious delight, but even more delightful is Phillips' use of language on the page. From Aphrodite's bottom "bouncing like two hard-boiled eggs dancing a tango" (page 89) to her description of Neil as a teenager, "an ugly, spotty, skinny-arsed spoddy minger" (page 88). The dialogue is witty as well: "'. . .you'd better come quick. I've got a god passed out on my kitchen floor and I think the world's about to end.' (page 213)."

One of the best scenes in this book comes when Apollo finds Zeus in the upper floors of the house staring at the television much like a zombie would. He's lifeless, but still a god able to stand on his own and still strike down mortals with lightning. Reading this section brought to life the dilemma that often faces many of us, do we unwind too often in front of the television rather than through more challenging activities, like games, competition, reading, and exercise? Is this section a commentary on the lives we continue to lead now, watching television, zoning out, and withdrawing into ourselves away from society. But, I digress.

With an interesting cast of characters from a Christian Eros to a drunk, DJ in Dionysus, Phillips uses her cast of characters to dramatically set the stage for a modern day Greek comedy of errors and missed chances. Even readers who do not have a firm background in mythology will enjoy this book. ...more

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