Monthly Pick – January 2020: Lovely War

The Lovely War
Author: Julie Berry
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mythology
Page Count: 480
Published by: Viking Books for Young Readers
Date Published: March 5, 2019
You can find it here: Bookshop.org

I figured there was no better book to kick off the new year than recommending my favourite read of the last year! And this *most distinguished* award goes to Lovely War by Julie Berry.

This book blew me away – gravitating, lyrical prose and an equally heart-wrenching & heart-warming story centring around the Great War. It is the love story of two couples: Belgian refugee Collette & Aubrey, an African American jazz musician, and sweet, funny Hazel and her James, a British soldier. The twist? It is told from the alternating perspective of the Greek gods themselves: Aphrodite, Ares, Hades and Apollo. The gods serve as an omnipresent force throughout the story, while they themselves are all in a New York hotel room in 1942.

It is a tale of loss and hope and ultimately a tale of love and its ability to overcome war.

Any purchases made via retailer links provided in this article may result in this site receiving a share of that sale.