Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
While I normally avoid reading books that cover Greek and Roman mythologies (we get it, y'all miss the hedonistic nature of the Greek and Romans; seriously, y'all can't find any other ancient civilizations and their mythologies to fetishize and re-tell?) but my friend Barbara read the book and recommended it, and the premise was intriguing and different from other retellings that placed the gods and goddesses on a pedestal, so I decided to give it a try.
It's a pretty short book (less then 300 pages) and the prose is not difficult to pick up or follow. There are times where the book is satirical, poking fun at both the Greek gods and goddesses, while also juxtaposing our devotion to the more modern religions and how we as society follow them without seeing any tangential beliefs for our faith.
In Phillips world, the Greek Pantheon live in a townhome in England together (with the exception of Poseidon, Hades and Persephone) and they are incredibly bored. They have wanted in power because of the lack of belief that humanity has in them and their abilities, and they are essentially only functioning at their base level. Enter into this are Neil and Alice, two mortals who are in the phase of "will they or won't they" of becoming together. Add Eros listening to his mom Aphrodite to listen to her and assist her in her mischief, and suddenly you get a retelling of a Shakespearian "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with Greek Gods and mortals becoming the tragic characters of the story.
The book can't deliver however, on keeping a consistent plot. There were points of the book where I felt hooked, and had to keep on reading to fully enjoy the story that Phillips developed, and to see how the gods acted in their environment, but on the flip side things would slow down and I would find myself being dragged through the story. This particularly became an issue when in mid chapter the third person narrative would shift to a different character pov, and I would have to re-read a passage or two to see what was really going on. I also found it interesting that Phillips never directly addressed the queer nature of the Greek gods in the modern setting - while they were open about it in their relationship discussions, Phillips largely avoided any mentions which I found interesting.
If you are a fan of Greek mythology, satirical novels and would like to read about weak gods living in London, this is the book for you.
It's a pretty short book (less then 300 pages) and the prose is not difficult to pick up or follow. There are times where the book is satirical, poking fun at both the Greek gods and goddesses, while also juxtaposing our devotion to the more modern religions and how we as society follow them without seeing any tangential beliefs for our faith.
In Phillips world, the Greek Pantheon live in a townhome in England together (with the exception of Poseidon, Hades and Persephone) and they are incredibly bored. They have wanted in power because of the lack of belief that humanity has in them and their abilities, and they are essentially only functioning at their base level. Enter into this are Neil and Alice, two mortals who are in the phase of "will they or won't they" of becoming together. Add Eros listening to his mom Aphrodite to listen to her and assist her in her mischief, and suddenly you get a retelling of a Shakespearian "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with Greek Gods and mortals becoming the tragic characters of the story.
The book can't deliver however, on keeping a consistent plot. There were points of the book where I felt hooked, and had to keep on reading to fully enjoy the story that Phillips developed, and to see how the gods acted in their environment, but on the flip side things would slow down and I would find myself being dragged through the story. This particularly became an issue when in mid chapter the third person narrative would shift to a different character pov, and I would have to re-read a passage or two to see what was really going on. I also found it interesting that Phillips never directly addressed the queer nature of the Greek gods in the modern setting - while they were open about it in their relationship discussions, Phillips largely avoided any mentions which I found interesting.
If you are a fan of Greek mythology, satirical novels and would like to read about weak gods living in London, this is the book for you.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
These gods were in fact behaving badly (and kinda stupid)
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting, but a bit hard to follow in the beginning, especially if you haven't brushed up on your Greek mythology. However, I never felt any sort of connection with the characters (and some I found just too despicable), nor did I find it very funny so I couldn't really get into it as much as I hoped.
Meh. It took me a while to read this book because it never really grabbed me. It remained in my purse as my "waiting room" book. Similar premise as "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman, but not as good. Gods weakened by the fact that no one believes in them anymore.
Read "American Gods" instead.
Read "American Gods" instead.
This is such a fun book. I hadn’t read it in years and it was nice to revisit it!