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God's Snake
“Remarkably fresh and vigorous . . . an impressive achievement.”— The New York Times Book Review
Set amid the arid landscape and stony resentments of Greece in the aftermath of its bloody civil war, this electrifying novel unfolds a series of interconnecting modern-day fables about childhood and family, love and betrayal. God’s Snake is the story of the inventive, courageous Anna, a young girl who has inherited both the skepticism of classical Athens and the fierce stoicism of Sparta. It is also the story of Anna’s her mother, a woman as remote as she is seductive, and her father, a misogynist army officer who, when Anna cries, tells her, “we are not born to be comforted.”
As Anna picks her way through this emotional minefield, she encounters people and animals that possess the revelatory powers of figures in a the snakes her father’s adjutant kills as emissaries of the Devil, a poetry-loving general; a haunted girl whose mother dies of tuberculosis; a frozen crow that miraculously comes back to life, God’s Snake is a work filled with passion, magic, and terror, conceived by a novelist of visionary authority.
Set amid the arid landscape and stony resentments of Greece in the aftermath of its bloody civil war, this electrifying novel unfolds a series of interconnecting modern-day fables about childhood and family, love and betrayal. God’s Snake is the story of the inventive, courageous Anna, a young girl who has inherited both the skepticism of classical Athens and the fierce stoicism of Sparta. It is also the story of Anna’s her mother, a woman as remote as she is seductive, and her father, a misogynist army officer who, when Anna cries, tells her, “we are not born to be comforted.”
As Anna picks her way through this emotional minefield, she encounters people and animals that possess the revelatory powers of figures in a the snakes her father’s adjutant kills as emissaries of the Devil, a poetry-loving general; a haunted girl whose mother dies of tuberculosis; a frozen crow that miraculously comes back to life, God’s Snake is a work filled with passion, magic, and terror, conceived by a novelist of visionary authority.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 21, 2019
Amid a harsh, patriarchal world--post-WWII/Civil War Greece--emerges the fiercely perceptive consciousness of Anna. This collection of linked short stories traces her upbringing from infancy to young adulthood.
Anna's outlook is delightfully feminist. Even as a little girl, she stands up to her father, a high-ranking officer in Greece's National Army, as well as other figures of patriarchal authority. Though the stories focus intensely on her relationships with family, friends, lovers, pets and nature, we also get glimpses of a country ravaged not only by the Nazi Occupation, but also by the Civil War that ensued. Pitting Communist guerrillas against the US-backed National Army, this war tore the nation--as well as families and communities--apart.
Despite a setting that appears dismal on both a personal and social level, the poetic style of the narrative, as well as Anna's irreverent attitude, infuse these stories with beauty, humour and hope. They are also a much needed corrective representations of Greek women as meek and submissive!!
Anna's outlook is delightfully feminist. Even as a little girl, she stands up to her father, a high-ranking officer in Greece's National Army, as well as other figures of patriarchal authority. Though the stories focus intensely on her relationships with family, friends, lovers, pets and nature, we also get glimpses of a country ravaged not only by the Nazi Occupation, but also by the Civil War that ensued. Pitting Communist guerrillas against the US-backed National Army, this war tore the nation--as well as families and communities--apart.
Despite a setting that appears dismal on both a personal and social level, the poetic style of the narrative, as well as Anna's irreverent attitude, infuse these stories with beauty, humour and hope. They are also a much needed corrective representations of Greek women as meek and submissive!!
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November 18, 2021“I wanted to be a poet and write beautiful words about beautiful things but it didn’t come out that way.”
August 24, 2022
Liked this book less than another I've read of Spanidou (don't remember name). A sad (and enraging) tale of a girl growing up at very end of Greek Civil War, father an officer in the army. There is so much violence - both overt and quietly concealed - that it's hard to read. An enraged father with great power publicly and in the family and a mother beaten down by husband's (and society's) rules and a daughter fighting to find herself.
October 28, 2013
To be honest, this book is probably better than I've rated it. It probably deserves a 4 or a 5. It reminded me, somewhat, of a book that I would have enjoyed being assigned in school, although, let's face it, it would never, ever get passed the censors. It also reminds me of something I would hate...Wide Sargasso Sea comes to mind. Its actually a fairly good comparison, which may be part of why I dinged it. The main difference between the two are that God's Snake did not cause me to loathe ALL the characters. I did like Anna, the narrator and one or two others. The rest...I'd be looking for the sea monster again. The storyline also jumps back and forth through time indiscriminately which drives me batty. If I have to look up repeatedly and say, what the hell is going on here, that's not a good thing.
The simple fact is, I couldn't help being mad the whole time I read this book. I literally wanted to jump into the pages and punch people. Which I guess is a sign of engagement with the story. The book's effect is such that it gets a rise out of people and that may be the intent. Either way, if I find myself moody or bitter (this isn't tough) because of a book, I guess you could say its done it job and deserves to be rated as such. On the flip side, I wasn't dying to get back into it. I hustled through this one because I was seeing the loanee on Sunday and wanted to return it - yet I didn't feel as though I wanted to read it. I wasn't weaving through Grand Central Station with my nose in it as I so often am. Hence the 3 rating. The book is good, just not compelling/interesting enough.
Some nuts and bolts (some spoilers) - this is a somewhat harrowing coming of age tale for a Greek girl (Anna) who's Dad is a militant douchebag and a mother who is basically been beaten down (mentally) into nothing by him. Anna's life is dictated by an almost totalitarian regime with nothing of what I would consider love. Oh and there's lots of dead and abused animals in there. Lots of kids have been through worse abuse, but the life she leads of basically feeling unwanted as a ten year old (and before) is just sad. Its a cautionary tale for me as I raise my own kids and how they feed off your feelings, attitudes and outward behavior. If I'd read this ten years ago I may have felt differently, but now with two kids - I can't imagine treating them the way she is treated and it causes the reaction. In 2003, I would have simply been angered about the deer and the dog (not that it didn't piss me off now) - similar to American Psycho (that guy killed like 30 people, but breaking the dog's legs is what got me)...
On the flip side, Anna's toughening up has its rewards (as can be seen at the end). Maybe there is a common ground between my way and the father's. In one part of the story, Anna is scared at night by a crow flying through her room. She runs for help from her parents. Her father, in turns yells at and chastizes her for waking them up and not knocking and sends her back to her room without any review of the situation or basic consideration of the feelings of a scared kid. I found that horrific and awful on the part of the parents. At the same time, I get up three-to-five times a night with a kid screaming, generally because of a lost pacifier. If I had a little more of this dad's attitude I might get more sleep. I just can't consider myself being that heartless. But maybe a little more harshness toughens kids to allow them to face life's challenges better than I have been able too. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
In the end, interesting tale, at times more enjoyable than others. I hated the first chapter (to the point I almost gave up) and was mad during most of the others, but there is some value here. Of notable interest: where do I get a Manolis? Someone who is just there to do basic tasks around the house while we just sit around. Really? Maybe this is why the Greek gov't is bankrupt.
I picked up God's Snake along with Hotel New Hampshire, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch and a book of Russian Short Stories from Rich and Heather. As always, a good haul from them. One day I'll return the favor.
The simple fact is, I couldn't help being mad the whole time I read this book. I literally wanted to jump into the pages and punch people. Which I guess is a sign of engagement with the story. The book's effect is such that it gets a rise out of people and that may be the intent. Either way, if I find myself moody or bitter (this isn't tough) because of a book, I guess you could say its done it job and deserves to be rated as such. On the flip side, I wasn't dying to get back into it. I hustled through this one because I was seeing the loanee on Sunday and wanted to return it - yet I didn't feel as though I wanted to read it. I wasn't weaving through Grand Central Station with my nose in it as I so often am. Hence the 3 rating. The book is good, just not compelling/interesting enough.
Some nuts and bolts (some spoilers) - this is a somewhat harrowing coming of age tale for a Greek girl (Anna) who's Dad is a militant douchebag and a mother who is basically been beaten down (mentally) into nothing by him. Anna's life is dictated by an almost totalitarian regime with nothing of what I would consider love. Oh and there's lots of dead and abused animals in there. Lots of kids have been through worse abuse, but the life she leads of basically feeling unwanted as a ten year old (and before) is just sad. Its a cautionary tale for me as I raise my own kids and how they feed off your feelings, attitudes and outward behavior. If I'd read this ten years ago I may have felt differently, but now with two kids - I can't imagine treating them the way she is treated and it causes the reaction. In 2003, I would have simply been angered about the deer and the dog (not that it didn't piss me off now) - similar to American Psycho (that guy killed like 30 people, but breaking the dog's legs is what got me)...
On the flip side, Anna's toughening up has its rewards (as can be seen at the end). Maybe there is a common ground between my way and the father's. In one part of the story, Anna is scared at night by a crow flying through her room. She runs for help from her parents. Her father, in turns yells at and chastizes her for waking them up and not knocking and sends her back to her room without any review of the situation or basic consideration of the feelings of a scared kid. I found that horrific and awful on the part of the parents. At the same time, I get up three-to-five times a night with a kid screaming, generally because of a lost pacifier. If I had a little more of this dad's attitude I might get more sleep. I just can't consider myself being that heartless. But maybe a little more harshness toughens kids to allow them to face life's challenges better than I have been able too. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
In the end, interesting tale, at times more enjoyable than others. I hated the first chapter (to the point I almost gave up) and was mad during most of the others, but there is some value here. Of notable interest: where do I get a Manolis? Someone who is just there to do basic tasks around the house while we just sit around. Really? Maybe this is why the Greek gov't is bankrupt.
I picked up God's Snake along with Hotel New Hampshire, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch and a book of Russian Short Stories from Rich and Heather. As always, a good haul from them. One day I'll return the favor.
May 16, 2011
Spanidou's first novel is a sharp-edged coming of age story set in Greece. A child of a hard, military father and a sensual, repressed mother, Anna is curious and smart, but her conjectures about the adult conversations she hears vary from tragic to comic. She waxes philosophical as she tries to cope with the harsh demands of her Spartan father, who gives her a wolf to raise, while still being secretly true to her own growing self. She loves her mother from afar, as her mother is not interested in being close to her, although she does spoil her delicate younger sister. Spanidou gives a fresh approach to a girl's coming of age story with her honesty and her offbeat experiences.
February 28, 2012
This is the story of a very intelligent girl growing up in post war Greece. Her father is in the military and the family moves often. She tells stories of her childhood and living with her domineering father and unhappy, cold mother. She learns about nature, religion, sexuality and human interaction. The story was a bit disjointed and seemed to jump around in time, making it a bit difficult to follow at times. The insights from this little girl are much more grown up and mature than one would expect. Still, the descriptions were beautiful and the situations that this girl found herself in made for some interesting moments.
June 4, 2012
This is an intensely sensual novel, full of feeling but never sentimental. Part of it broke my heart, and in fact the father seems intent on breaking this daughter (in some sense; her emotional nature?) and she equally intent on resisting him. This book is about battles of wills, those of daughter (and mother) against the hard, militaristic father/husband. The mother is partly lost, but we can only hope the daughter will get away with her spirit intact.
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February 9, 2010Very well written first novel written in English which is the author's second or maybe even third language. So easy, crisp images, amazing story, teaches you how to create images and a voice that practice great restraint. Totally amazing story, as well.
June 6, 2013
That was just weird. Seriously not much more to say, I just don't get this book.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews