6 August 2007

Good Gods

‘Gods Behaving Badly’, by Marie Phillips

Looking for a light beach read? May we suggest one of the Greek classics?

Don’t yawn just yet.

Gods Behaving Badly, a charming new work by first-time novelist Marie Phillips, is inspired by ancient Greek mythology.

Who’d have thought that the inhabitants of a rundown, rat-infested hovel in North London were responsible for the creation of the human race? Not protagonist Alice Mulholland. But when she becomes the cleaner for a family of Greek gods, she’s forced to change her mind.

Alice soon discovers that life for a god in the 21st century isn’t pretty: Apollo is a tacky TV psychic; Aphrodite, a telephone sex operator; Artemis walks dogs for a living. Things are looking bleak — until Alice and her best friend, Neil, walk into their lives and their world is literally turned upside down.

From ancient texts, Phillips has pulled a magical, myth-defying love story.

Some might even say a classic.

Available online at amazon.co.uk.