The central romance and characters in this book are Hazel and James, and their relationship and connection is deeper than Colette's and Aubrey's until the end of the story. Fans of Greek epics and the Percy Jackson series will enjoy the inclusion of them Gods. Inclusion was to make the book more accessible to teenage readers.
However, reflecting back on the book, the Gods add another tier to the rich narrative, one that is appreciated more after the novel is over.
I would have been interested to know if Berry ever had a draft of the story sans-Gods. Inclusion of the Greek Gods as narrators at first- the story is strong enough to stand without it- and until the very end, the purpose of the Gods in the story is almost irrelevant. This book deals with elements of WWI I did not know about- Germany's brutal and heartbreaking invasion of Belgium, and the prejudice and racial discrimination in the U.S army during WWI. Julie Berry's prose is almost poetic in it's splendor, rich with meticulous descriptions about wartime France and Britain. I felt as if I knew Hazel, James, Aubrey and Colette personally by the time the story is over. The story is funny, heartbreaking, intense, and overall, beautiful. This book is structured interestingly- the story of these two parallel loves is narrated by the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, who tells the tale years later in the days of WWII to her husband, Hephaestus, god of fire and volcanos, and a few other gods to remind them what true love is and the transcendent power of love over war. What follows is a beautifully written novel about these four characters, their hardships, and loves. They become very close friends, and Colette begins to fall in love with charismatic Aubrey, who's jazz is redefining the world of music. Distraught over the fate of James, Hazel, eager to help the war effort, enlists as a pianist at a volunteer job and meets Colette, a fellow volunteer. Hazel and James meet and fall in love days before he is shipped off to the Front to face deadly combat in the WWI trenches. The book centers on four young people who's path's cross during WWI- British Hazel Windicott, a pianist, and James Alderidge, a would-be architect shipped off to war, Colette Fournier, a Belgian singer who lost her family at the hands of the Germans, and Aubrey Edwards, a black American solider in a jazz military band in a time of military prejudice and racial discrimination. Romances, and was not disappointed by this amazing story. I chose Lovely War because of my interest in historical fiction, especially historical Lovely War by Julie Berry is such a wonderful book about two couples in the tragic and terrible days of WWI as narrated by the Greek Gods.
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