Lovely War

Lovely War is a work of historical fiction by Julie Berry. This Young Adult novel has won numerous awards, including the Golden Kite Award for Young Adult Fiction, the Whitney Award, and the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.

Berry’s book tells the stories of two couples involved in the Great War (World War I). These stories are told through a frame narrative, recounted by the Greek goddess Aphrodite to a group of fellow Olympian gods and goddesses, as part of a court trial in which she is accused of infidelity by her husband, Hephaestus. Through her tale, Aphrodite explores the redemptive nature of mortal love, which she envies above all else.

This guide is based on the 2019 Viking Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) edition.

Content Warning: This guide contains references to racial prejudice, racial violence, and racial slurs that appear in the novel as well as general violence and trauma. This study guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

The novel opens in a Manhattan hotel where Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, passion, and beauty, are involved in a passionate love affair. They are interrupted and imprisoned in a golden net by Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge and Aphrodite’s husband, who has discovered their affair. Hephaestus rules that they should hold a court case examining Aphrodite’s infidelity, which she candidly and immediately pleads guilty to. Aphrodite suggests that she is misunderstood and lonely and says that she will present evidence of mortal love stories to explain her case. Hephaestus agrees. This story comprises the frame narrative through which the primary stories of the novel—the love stories between James and Hazel, Aubrey and Colette—are told. Aphrodite summons Hades and Apollo to assist as witnesses. They join the proceedings in the Manhattan hotel room.

James encounters Hazel for the first time at a parish dance in Poplar in 1917; Hazel is playing the piano. James and Hazel dance and are smitten with each other, with some assistance from Aphrodite (the goddess oversees all budding romances). They spend the rest of the week together, until James is sent to France. He trains and becomes a sniper. Meanwhile, Hazel volunteers to go to France with the YMCA. She is stationed at the American camp Saint-Nazaire. Here, she meets Colette, a Belgian volunteer with a beautiful singing voice, and Aubrey, a jazz musician from Harlem. Hazel is immediately drawn to Aubrey’s cheeky and confident sense of humor.

Colette lived in Dinant, Belgium, until it was sacked by German forces in 1914, in what many call the Rape of Belgium. Her whole family died, as well as her childhood sweetheart, Stéphane. Colette hopes that her work with the YMCA will provide some solace through helping others affected by the horrors of war.

Colette and Hazel spend a weekend in Paris, where James and Hazel reunite during James’s leave. They spend a romantic and love-filled few days exploring Paris, eating at cafés, and kissing.

Aubrey and Colette meet when Aubrey is drawn to the YMCA hut after hearing Colette’s beautiful voice. They are immediately attracted to one another and begin a love affair. As a Black man, Aubrey endures horrific treatment during and after the war, including being threatened at gunpoint for spending time with the two white women. Aubrey’s friend Joey is horrifically beaten and murdered by white marines, who presumably intended to kill Aubrey as retribution for spending time with Colette. Devastated, Aubrey leaves camp with his band, not saying goodbye to Colette or writing to her for some time. Colette and Hazel are dismissed for entertaining Aubrey in their hut after hours. They move to Paris and then go to work at a concentration camp for German prisoners of war.

James’s unit is obliterated in the German Spring offensive. He suffers from significant post-traumatic stress disorder, known at the time as shell shock, when his friend Frank Mason is blown up in front of him by a German shell. James is discharged to recover and ends up in a psychiatric hospital in London. He returns to his family home in Chelmsford and is unwilling to resume his relationship with Hazel, feeling fundamentally changed. Hazel persists and travels with James when he goes to meet Adelaide Mason, Frank’s widow. James tells Adelaide of the circumstances of Frank’s death. Hazel is shocked to hear of the horrific experiences James suffered. James and Hazel reconcile. James returns to the front, and Hazel returns to France; Colette and Hazel resume their work at the concentration camp kitchen.

Aubrey travels to Paris to apologize to Colette and to resume their relationship. She is furious that he has not written, but they reconcile and spend a day in Paris. He suggests that she should return to New York with him after the war. Later, when Colette and Hazel travel by train to see James and Aubrey, the train is bombed by German shells. Hazel is killed, but Aphrodite convinces Hades to allow her to live. Hazel wakes up in a hospital three days later, disfigured with scars on her face. She is ashamed and suggests that James shouldn’t attach himself to her. He refuses her suggestion and proposes to her.

When the war ends, James and Hazel are married. They live in a flat in London. James becomes an architect, and Hazel secures a position at the Royal Academy of Music. They have two children.

Colette returns to New York with Aubrey. They struggle to gain recognition for their music due to racial prejudice. Eventually, they start playing in cafés and clubs, then record their music and are played on radio stations. They plan to marry.

Aphrodite concludes her tale. Hephaestus understands, through the stories he has heard, that Aphrodite yearns to love and to be loved. She uses her stories to suggest that true love is impossible between gods, but Hephaestus convinces her of their respective imperfections. They reconcile, kissing.