To keep her white protagonists likable, she makes Hazel and Colette brazenly not racist. Very few people would root for an openly racist protagonist, even if the racism stemmed from ignorance instead of malice. While Berry’s historical depictions aim to not overlook racial dynamics, it can also pose potential issues in the narrative. Aubrey’s commanding officer, Jim Europe, was a real military leader and jazz musician, which is another case of Berry integrating her fictional characters into a historical landscape, taking pains to stick to historical realism as much as she can. 369 th Infantry, or the Harlem Hellfighters, a notable group of historic Black American soldiers who fought in the trenches of World War I. Since the work is a historical fiction, Berry weaves the stories of real people within her created characters.Īubrey’s battalion is the U.S. Aubrey is Black in the early 20th century, which allows Berry to spend a significant amount of the novel analyzing racism and demonstrating the injustices that Aubrey and his battalion face. One theme present heavily in “Lovely War” is racism. Berry’s use of the Greek gods as narrators brings a deeper level of interest to the novel, allowing the work to follow all four characters and watch their romances develop beautifully as Aphrodite brings the lovers to each other. Both Aphrodite and Ares weave the four protagonists into a rich tapestry, through their love and the ravages of war.

Their stories, though distinct, come together in a harmonious chord plucked by Aphrodite.

These couples are Hazel Windicott, a British girl from London, with James Alderidge, a soldier headed to the front, and Colette Fournier, a Belgian girl marred by tragedy, with Aubrey Edwards, an African American jazz pianist roped into enlisting in the war.Īll four protagonists dance around each other, intersecting at various times. Hephaestus catches his wife, Aphrodite, cheating on him with his brother Ares, God of War he holds a trial, in which Aphrodite defends herself by recounting a story of two of her favorite mortal couples she helped to fall in love. “ Lovely War ” by Julie Berry tells the story of two couples in love during World War I - all narrated by the Greek gods.

The lovely war