So This Is War

Levi Posey is one of the novel’s protagonists and first-person narrators. The chapters titled with his first name are written from his point of view. In the narrative present, Levi is a 32-year-old defenseman for the Vancouver Agitators hockey team. Growing up, his parents “knew [his] passion” and “helped [him] grow it along with [his] skill” (182). His stable home life and upbringing thus allowed him to become one of the best defensemen in the hockey league as an adult. He values his work and loves his teammates, with whom he has cultivated close relationships. Levi also wants “to do anything to please [his] coach” because his parents raised him to respect authority figures (34). However, his dynamic with Coach Will Wood is complicated because Wood often catches him getting into trouble with his sexual counterparts or his opponents on the ice. Determined to make amends for these infractions, Levi finds himself agreeing to hire Wood’s daughter Wylie Wood as his personal assistant even though the arrangement compels him to compromise his morals and sense of self.

Levi struggles to balance his empathetic and generous nature with Wood’s demands throughout the novel. Levi knows that his coach wants him to treat Wylie in a way that forces her to give up her job and return to school.