This is the story of two couples who, pushed and prodded by the gods--Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo and Lord Hades himself—experience love and loss and love in World War I.
Hazel is a sheltered young lady who plays piano at a parish dance, where she meets James, an Englishman who is scheduled to leave for the Front within a week. The two (aided by Aphrodite, of course) feel a deep and immediate connection, but then James is called away even sooner.
Aubrey is a drummer, a Black soldier in a very segregated United States Army. His regiment is sent to France, where he hears Colette singing, and the two promptly in love. (Aphrodite again.) But Ares, and Apollo, and the Germans, and deeply-held racist beliefs all have a say in how this story unfolds. I have to say that I enjoyed every one of its 451 pages, which end (SPOILER ALERT) with “a kiss for the ages."
As with many of my favorite reads, I was immediately submerged in a world that felt whole and complete. From the very first sentence of the “overture," I was right there with Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Ares. Then, when we switched over to Act One, it happened again—I had an instant of worry that the change would be jarring but it was not. The stories of Hazel and James, then Aubrey and Colette, sprang to life just as easily as the opening pages had.
Character, setting, plot—this one has it all.
--Lynn
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