Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

Stars: *****

Summary: Being a Greek god is not all it once was. Yes, the twelve gods of Olympus are alive and well in the twenty-first century, but they are crammed together in a London townhouse-and none too happy about it. And they've had to get day jobs: Artemis as a dog-walker, Apollo as a TV psychic, Aphrodite as a phone sex operator, Dionysus as a DJ. Even more disturbingly, their powers are waning, and even turning mortals into trees--a favorite pastime of Apollo's--is sapping their vital reserves of strength. Soon, what begins as a minor squabble between Aphrodite and Apollo escalates into an epic battle of wills. Two perplexed humans, Alice and Neil, who are caught in the crossfire, must fear not only for their own lives, but for the survival of humankind. Nothing less than a true act of heroism is needed-but can these two decidedly ordinary people replicate the feats of the mythical heroes and save the world?

Gods Behaving Badly was hilariously funny! I knew it would be a great book right near the beginning in I believe chapter 2 when I read something so crazy and ridiculous I was bursting out laughing and RAN into the other room to tell my husband what happened even though he never reads. I'm dying to tell you what had me so hysterical but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

On that same note though, I must warn you that if you have a problem with sex in a book, do NOT read this book. It's not romance or erotica but there are some sex scenes. I mean Aphrodite is in the book, remember?

I think what made the book so funny was that we are imagining these Almighty Greek Gods as everyday people in the 21st century. I'm not great at reviewing fiction (which is why I focus on non-fiction) so here are some great quotes and be sure to check out the other reviews linked below.

"So there was Apollo and Aphrodite, and Artemis, who was rather more of a hands-on boss than Alice was used to, and Eros and Hermes, both of whom looked at her with a good deal more curiosity than she was comfortable with, and Ares, who always put her in a bad mood for some reason, and Hephaestus, who was so very ugly that she felt sick every time she saw him [...], and Dionysus, who made her nervous because he was always drunk, and the other two women, Athena and Demeter, who ignored her so completely that it was almost like noticing her - all of these people who were so perplexing and whom she couldn't talk about." - pg 82

And this next quote is part of a funny spot in the book. Apollo got advice from one of the other Gods to apologize if he feels guilty because that's how you get rid of the feeling.

"You do not apologize because you feel guilty and you want the feeling to
go away," said Neil.

"You don't?" said Apollo.

"No. You apologize because you feel guilty and that guilt is how you know that you've done something wrong. And then you want to make amends. You don't apologize because you wan tot make yourself feel better. You apologize because you want to make the other person feel better."

"But why should I want to make you feel better? said Apollo. He was
beginning to uncurl. "I couldn't care less how you feel."

"Yes, I think I gathered that." - pg 208

The copy I reviewed has a Reading Group Guide inside as well as a short essay by Marie Phillips on writing fiction and Marie Phillips Top 10 Books That Make Her Laugh.

You can check out this YouTube video on Gods Behaving Badly. Check out the Marie Phillips website and her blog.

Other's Reviews

Book Reviews by Bobbie
Booking Mama
Care's Online Book Club
Book-a-rama
Jenn's Bookshelf
A Novel Menagerie
A Reader's Respite
Savvy Verse and Wit
Diary of an Eccentric
Becky's Book Reviews
The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting and Randomness
Sophisticated Dorkiness