The God of Impertinence

by Sten Nadolny, Breon Mitchell (Translator)

From the acclaimed author of The Discovery of Slowness comes a book that is "postmodernist beach reading: Apollo channel surfing, Hermes discovering french fries and the trickster god taming the gods of war" (The New York Times Book Review). The ancient gods are still among us! After 2,187 years in chains, Hermes -- the fun-loving god of stolen kisses, erotic freedom, turmoil, and thievery -- is freed. He soon sets out to resurrect the long-forgotten virtues of curiosity, imagination, humor...and mischief.

Finding the modern age strange and confusing, Hermes catches up with the cultural changes of the last two millenniums by tapping the minds of everyone from graffiti artists to brain specialists. He soon learns that disempowered Zeus has retired to play golf in Missouri and that Hephaestus, the neurotic and cranky god of volcanoes, is plotting the demise of gods and mankind alike. Hermes needs all the impertinence and roguery he can muster for the game of divine poker that will decide the fate of the world, in this swift and amusing fable for the end of the millennium.

Genres: Mythology, Fiction, Fantasy, Roman, Germany, Novels, Humor

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Sten Nadolny, (born 29 July 1942, in Zehdenick, Province of Brandenburg) is a German novelist. His parents, Burkhard and Isabella Nadolny, were also writers.

His best known work is "The Discovery of Slowness" (1987; originally published in 1983 as "Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit"), a fictionalized meditation on the life and lessons of British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin. A pre-publication portion of the novel titled "Kopenhagen 1801" (which would become the fifth chapter) had earned Nadolny the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 1980.

Reviews

[Karin Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr unterhaltsam, leicht zu lesen und regt trotzdem zum Nachdenken an.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way the author writes Hermes is fantastic(with the exception of writing him as being obsessed with the female lead who is written so blandly that their love story is unbelievable and in fact, another God had to later force Hermes’ will into loving her fully anyways..??? So which was it? He loved her already or she had to force Anteros to make him love her? Neither of which is believable) so the book gets three stars for Hermes’ characterization but the way the author writes the female lead, and then the way the author just wrapped up the story the way he did (I liked that he skipped the actual showdown and only writes about the after effects of said showdown but it was still too conveniently wrapped up after spending the whole book being told it couldn’t be done).
It’s rare to find a story with Hermes as a lead character but I wish this book had been written better. Or at least the characters written better. I was so frustrated because there were glimmers that the author could have made Helle interesting (like when she got mad when she realized Hermes couldn’t love her the way she demanded) and yet he just backed away from trying to make her anything more. Very disappointing because I love Hermes and was excited to have a book all about him. And if the author had focused more on the conflict between Hermes and Hephaestus who was slowly taking over and who had actually introduced the concept of a monolithic God in order to get power from the other Gods’ worshippers turning to the singular god and worshipping capitalism rather than spending so much time writing about Hermes being obsessed with a woman that has no real personality, the book would have been SO much better.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever book that I recently read for the second time, the first being shortly after it was translated into English in the 1990s. While the ending is a little shaky, the rest of the book is so imaginative and fun it can be forgiven - trying to tie up ends of story-lines belonging to the gods can't be an easy task. The themes of life, love, work, and man's lust for technologies are still just as true 20 years after the book's publication.

[Carmen Moragues Valdés · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro inteligente, divertido, pero sobre todo curioso. Me ha encantado y lo leeré muchas más veces

[Eleonora Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!!!

[Michael Martin]

Not as satisfying as the discovery of slowness but a read as mischievous as Hermes.

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Griechische Götter haben es in der modernen Welt auch nicht leicht - trotz ohrer göttlichen Eigenschaften. Sehr unterhaltsam, angereichert mit einer guten Portion Tiefgang

[Miroslav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gute premises Mittelmäßig umgesetzt

[Wm. A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book. I'm not completely fluent in German, but it was easier to read than most German novels I've read. Fast-moving, original, and humorous.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yep, here’s another novel about Greek Gods mucking about in modern times … except for one thing. This German translation was published about ten years before the current glut of mythological fiction. It’s also a good deal smarter and more creative than its more mainstream English brethren – which isn’t to say it’s not without its faults. The story and the characters are, well, they’re rather weak (or, as the New York Times brilliantly phrased it: “Nadolny's spoof of modern civilization doesn't take itself too seriously, and we shouldn't either. (Otherwise we might be irked by the disposable characters and a plot that suggests the random movements of protozoa.)”) After being chained to a volcano for two millennia, Hermes escapes to find a world where Hephaestus has taken over for Zeus (who has retired to New Athens, Illinois, where he plays golf) and the complicated nuances of Greek Gods have given way to a one-size-fits-all deity. This is an entertaining novel with some sly, sharp commentary (and numerous obscure references – I have to say, I’m much more knowledgeable about an odd assortment of random facts thanks to this book and the Internet). All in all, this book is a great example of why I love public libraries and their vast collections that give me the ability to stumble upon books I never would have otherwise discovered. Quasi-recommended.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generally, I adore Greek mythology. Reading about how the gods interact with each other and mortals can while away many an hour. They’re like fairy tales, only the moral teachings in them are meant for adults rather than naughty children.

But this story was a little flat for me, mainly because most of the dealings involved bored, shifty or crazed immortals. When humans entered the story, they functioned mostly as flesh puppets for whatever god or goddess happened to be riding them at the time. Only Helga (who is Helle’s mortal stand-in or mortal shell, I was never quite certain which) appears as a fully fleshed-out mortal and she’s killed off in the most miserable of fashions.

Also, after all the drama of the world’s impending doom because of the clash between mischief and mechanized mathematics, the ending comes with the abruptness of an avalanche. Suddenly, all is right with the world with no clear indication of how this happens. Evidently the main player Hephaestus collapses in a fit of tears, admits he was wrong and then everything's hunky dory. Hmm, a bit pat and not at all convincing.

The whole ends on a kind of feeble punchline that has certain people wondering what’s so funny. My thoughts exactly.

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comic stories about gods walking among present day mortals are nothing new. The classic is Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," but there are several exemplary twentieth century works, including my personal favorite, Thorne Smith's The Night Life of the Gods, and some of Tom Holt's recent fantasies. And it is easy to understand why the combination is popular--the author gets to comment on the foibles of mortality from an omniscient viewpoint without having to worry about going through any middleman.

The god of the title is Hermes (or Mercury if you prefer Romanization), who has been chained to a rock in the Aegean Sea by Zeus because of his disrespect. Zeus, being somewhat less intelligent than powerful, promptly forgets about him for a few thousand years. The novel opens with him obtaining his freedom by natural processes (a volcano) and being observed by Helga, a passenger on a passing cruise ship.

Great opening, but for some reason it never seems to rise above it, and constantly disappoints. Maybe it is a factor of the translation that the story seems to shift around. I could never tell if Helga was aware of Hermes' divinity or if she was an immortal herself. Some of the social commentary comes through, but never enough to break through the plot confusion.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had an interesting premise (Greek gods still around in the late 20th century, living as mortals) but not a very interesting execution. At least, I didn't find it very engaging. I kept loosing track of the action, and that was mainly because I wasn't that interested. There were witty moments and astute observations, but the overall thread didn't make me want to keep reading quickly. Some ideas of what the gods were up to didn't jive with mythology, at least my understanding of it. The author admits as much in his afterword. I suppose I would have found it more clever if they were behaving as mortals but within character...e.g., Athena on Jeopardy rather than living in Athens still, smoking. A part of me doesn't want to write this author off (perhaps some got lost in translation from the German?), but I don't think I'll be rushing out to read another of his books soon.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermes gets stuck in a mountain and wakes up in our time. Hijinks ensue.

The author is trying to make a lot of commentary of modern society...but sometimes I find his commentary inaccurate. He continues the tradition of modern authors pairing Hermes and Athena romantically. I mean I'm all for it, but I do find it peculiar.

[Nicole Lungeanu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bin ich die Einzige die den Sinn von Helga's Part nicht verstanden hat? So sehr ich Hermes liebe, und er war wirklich ganz lustig dargestellt, als lüsternen Gott habe ich ihn mir nun wirklich nicht vorgestellt. Alles in allem war die Geschichte manchmal etwas schwer zu verfolgen. Leide wurden meine Erwartungen nicht übertroffen und ich geben der Geschichte nur 2 Sterne. Schade, man hätte echt was Gutes daraus zaubern können...

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like alot got lost in translation.

[Mikee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original, unique. A bit too complex in places.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loopy story about how the Great God Hermes is freed from the volcano Zeus trapped him in thousands of years ago, and finds himself exploring the modern world.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

entertaining

[Helena]

Leto 1990. Po več kot 2000 letnem ujetništvu na grškem otoku Hermes končno postane svoboden. Osvobodi ga ravno njegov nasprotnik Hefajst, bog, ki v sodobnem svetu podleže napredku tehnologije. Osvobodi ga z upanjem, da mu bo z njegovo pomočjo uspelo uničiti človeštvo. Prvi človek, ki ga Hermes sreča, je lepa Helga, ki je Hefajstova hči. Sledi ji na vsakem koraku, tudi na križarjenju preko Atlantika. Med popotovanjem ne spozna le svoje izvoljenke, temveč tudi nove napredke in spremembe v svetu v zadnjih dveh tisočletjih, v času njegovega ujetništva. Da se na potovanju ne bi izdal, skače v ljudi skozi njihovo desno uho in tako opazuje svet. Spozna, da se je čas temeljito spremenil, postal tehnološki in brezbrižen, ljudje so otopeli, brez kakršnekoli volje do življenja, zdolgočaseni in na preži za vse, kar jim bi popestrilo vsakdanjik. Prav to bedo in dolgočasje med smrtniki pa želi uničiti Hefajst. Toda, mu uspe? Avtor je na hudomušen način antične bogove postavil v današnji svet, pomembno vlogo igrajo tudi njihova prepletanja med ljudmi kot tudi satirično videnje postmodernega tehnološkega sveta. Roman Bog predrznosti je Nadolnyjev drugi roman, za svoja dela pa je prejel številna priznanja in nagrade.