Vaid‘s Verdict: A light, imaginative novel with a fun concept. You won’t be introducing this in Literature class but you’ll be reading it on the bus over.

At first glance, Gods Behaving Badly seems like another ‘concept novel.’ One where they take a clever idea and draw it out like soft taffy, pulling and stretching, until all that’s left is another piece of fluff writing. Yet Gods Behaving Badly actually works. The author takes well known Greek Gods and places them in modern day North London with surprising results – a witty, unpretentious and genuinely enjoyable read that reminds you why you fell in love with Greek mythology in the first place.

The beloved Greek Gods of Olympus – Apollo, Hermes, Aphrodite, Zeus, Artemis etc – are living in a decrepit house in Hampstead where they are interminably bored with life and forced to live without worshippers, orgies or palaces. Their once omnipotent powers have waned to the point where they’re forced to work regular jobs – Aphrodite is a sex phone operator, Hermes is a bike courier, Artemis is a dog walker and Apollo is trying his hand at being a television psychic – these Gods have fallen far from grace. Their sole entertainment is plotting revenge against each other and the occasional romp with a relative. And that’s how the story begins…

After a rather lackluster shag between Apollo and Aphrodite, Apollo refuses to use his powers to heat up some bath water for her to shower in. Incensed by his refusal, Aphrodite employs her son Eros to inflict revenge. Apollo will be made to fall in love with a mortal woman who’ll hate him in return. But because Eros has turned to Christianity, his guilt doesn’t allow him to incite hate, so he simply makes Apollo fall in love with the woman and lets her decide how she feels about it. “It’s what Jesus would do,” he says. And so begins a love triangle between the mild mannered cleaner Alice, her would-be boyfriend Neil and the God of the Sun.

Now, if you’re like me and haven’t read a Greek myth since high school, don’t worry about getting lost in the legends. Marie Phillips, the exuberant author, does a very good job of gently reminding or explaining what each God is in charge of and what the classical tales are. The genius in what Phillips accomplishes is not the device itself (making Greek Gods ‘modern’) but in forming these omnipotent, flawed Gods into relatable, humorous and believable characters. The book isn’t ‘literary’ in any real sense but its use of classical stories and mythical figures brings an element of cleverness that takes it above the usual light read.

Light enough, in fact, that you get the impression it would make a great Disney animation if they could take all the lusty bits out. It has all the right elements – taking mythical creatures and making them more human, a meek Scrabble-obsessed man being the unlikely hero to save the world, a plain but good hearted heroine to stand up for what’s right (although really, when has there EVER been a ‘plain’-looking Disney girl?) and of course, that touch of magic and fancy that takes it over the top. There are even bits where Apollo sings, and Hera and Athena have a good old fashioned throw-down.

Personally, the idea of the world being ruled by selfish megalomaniacal Gods fits quite well with me. If you were immortal, how long do you think it would take before you became desensitized to famine, AIDS, rape, casualties of war, cancer and every other travesty on Earth? It would be quite a bore after a few hundred years, and even if taking care of it was your job, chances are you’d be slacking off by year 1030. If we knew that the ‘real’ Gods were Greek – squabbling amongst themselves, selfish, apathetic – would we want to believe in them? No more benevolent all-forgiving God, no more turning the cheek, or salvation through blind faith – we would all have to believe that our Gods are greedy, egotistical, lust-driven entities just like us. Gods Behaving Badly isn’t a particularly philosophical book but it does make you realize that the Greeks were a brave lot to allow their Gods flaws and still be able to worship them.

About the Author:

Marie Phillips was born in 1976 to a French Art historian-mother and a father who just happens to be Lord Chief Justice (which means he’s the highest judge in the Court of England and Wales). Although she didn’t study writing in university, she knew it was all she ever wanted to do. Her degree in anthropology and later an MA in visual anthropology might be part of the reason why she’s able to create such well formed, relatable characters. Says Phillips, “…[visual anthropology] was really another route into storytelling, which is what I wanted to do. I had always intended to write fiction, but I didn’t have anything to say till I was 23.” Much like the fantastical story she tells in Gods Behaving Badly, her own publishing story is something of a legend. Phillips was working at a bookstore when a publishing house representative happened to come in and agree to read her manuscript. The first four chapters then found their way into the inbox of famed editor Dan Franklin who loved it immediately and one week later, her novel was being sold in 14 different countries and has since been optioned for a TV series by Ben Stiller’s production company, Red Hour Films.