

LOVELY WAR

By Julie Berry

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The course of true love never did run smooth, especially through the twisting trenches of the Western Front. In Berry’s virtuoso historical fantasy, the Greek gods toy with the hearts of four young mortals caught up in a chaotic First World War romance. The story-within-a-story opens in an opulent Manhattan hotel room in 1942. Aphrodite confesses to her husband, Hephaestus, that she has been unfaithful, explaining that because her fate is to forever inspire love in others, she “will never know a true passion of my own.” In defense of her infidelity, Aphrodite shares the story of a model courtship she fashioned back in 1917.

While under Aphrodite’s influence, Hazel and James, two British teenagers, meet at a parish dance and stay true through James’s terrifying stint as a sniper at the front. We also meet Colette, a singer and stoic survivor of the infamous Rape of Belgium, who finds new hope when the goddess binds her destiny to a dashing African-American military musician, Aubrey. But after being blessed by Aphrodite, each of the young lovers must confront Ares. Their wartime trials movingly illuminate age-old mortal issues: racism, sexism and the devastating effects of PTSD.

The bickering gods, romantic rendezvous and exploding shells, set against impeccably rendered Paris streets and sandbagged trenches, read like a divine mix of Kate Atkinson and Neil Gaiman. When the hurly-burly’s done, and the battle’s lost and won, does Love conquer War? The answer is never in doubt, but it’s a pleasure to have it confirmed by a celestially inspired storyteller.