Things are not going well for the 12 gods of Olympus in
21st century London. Crammed together in a shabby, filthy
townhouse, they're forced to accept menial jobs to make
ends meet. Worse yet, they're unable to use their powers,
for doing so makes them even weaker. When a squabble
between phone sex operator Aphrodite and television psychic
Apollo involves mortals Alice and Neil, things threaten to
get out of hand and bring about the end of the world.
Alice is depressed when she loses her job at the television
station where Apollo works, but when she gets a job
cleaning the townhouse of a very eccentric family, she
thinks her luck is changing. Sure, they have some odd
names, odd habits and odd rules, but it's a steady
paycheck. And if she has to put up with Apollo's unwanted
attentions, well, he's not that bad. Though Apollo
seems harmless, when Alice rejects his attention, his wrath
has far-reaching consequences that could spell the end of
the gods and humanity.
GOD'S BEHAVING BADLY is an entertaining story, though I
have to admit, I didn't particularly like the characters.
The gods are unsympathetic and Alice and Neil are
milquetoasty. Still, Ms. Phillips has creatively
intertwined Greek mythology and 21st century reality into
an amusing read. Fans of the Olympus Twelve will get a kick
out her take on their lives as near-mortals.
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. Gods Behaving
Badly is that rare thing, a charming, funny, utterly
original first novel that satisfies the head and the heart.
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