Lovely War By Julie Berry - Part One: Structure

In her World War I romance, Lovely War, Julie Berry tells the love stories of two couples as they learn to love each other despite the horrors of war around them. However, this isn't your typical romance novel. The story is told from the perspectives of five Greek gods: Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Hades, and Hephaestus. Following true events, the book has a unique structure that may be difficult to pull off with so many perspectives. But Berry pulls it off beautifully by using key writing elements to keep her readers grounded.

Berry's book follows two couples in their developing romances from the perspective of Greek gods, who also have their own subplot. As such, there are many elements of the structure that are different from the typical romance novel. A basic romance book has either one or two perspectives, whereas Lovely War provides five with additional interludes for the couples. There is no set pattern for this structure aside from the chronological order of events. The story begins from Hephaestus' perspective, switches to Aphrodite, then Apollo, than back to Aphrodite. However, because each character has a unique voice, we're not lost in whose head or what point of the story we're in. The book teaches us in the first four chapter how to read its type of structure because we see how often the perspective changes. Additionally, there are several interludes in the story that give us further insight into the characters whose story we're reading. Berry uses letters to show how one couple is developing their relationship despite being separated by war-torn Europe. She also uses excerpts of music throughout the book as a way to show how many of the main characters connect with the world.

Another unique element of the structure in Lovely War is in the interweaving plots. There are about five different plots that interact with each other throughout the story. The book begins with the Greek gods, how they come to tell the two couples' stories, and their motivations for doing so. This subplot is going on behind the scenes as each god will make small asides to their audience–the other gods–as they tell their part of the story. The next plot follows James and Hazel's love story, but quickly divides into two when James is drafted and Hazel leaves home to help buoy troops in France. So, we have the plot with the gods, James experience in the trenches, and Hazel's experience in France. Then, we are introduced to Aubrey and Collette when Hazel meets them in France, and soon their story splits when Aubrey is transferred to the front lines. Hazel and James, eventually, reunite and are torn apart again–as is the case with Aubrey and Collette. But what is fascinating with all these moving parts is that the subplot with the Greek gods telling the story in the background actually grounds the reader so they're not lost. Berry uses characters outside the immediate plot to narrate the story, keeping us engaged and on track to understand the story.

Summary

Through the Greek god narrators of the story, readers are grounded through a twisting story with several plot lines and characters. If you would like to write in such a structure, one: it's important to introduce your narrators early and make them different from your main characters, and two: outline the plot of the whole book. The only way that readers are able to stay grounded with the Greek gods subplot is because they are introduced quickly in the first chapter, they are distinctly different from the four main characters, and have a unique omniscience to the story where they can narrate without being involved in the story too much. Whoever your narrator is will understand the story in a different light than those who are living the story, so they should be introduced early to provide your readers with an understanding of how your story operates and they should also have a distinct voice separate from your main characters. And, I guarantee that Berry outlined her plot. With so many moving parts, it's vital to understand your novel completely before or during your writing process. It would be easy to make plot holes that are never filled because you're switching perspectives and plot lines so much. However, there are no such issues in Lovely War. Perhaps she wrote one plot line at a time and then weaved them together, splitting up the chapters accordingly, or maybe she wrote chapter by chapter, switching from plots and perspectives easily. Whichever way you choose to write, be sure to tie up all the loose ends.