If you are a regular follower of my blog, you would know how much I love reading fiction based around the World Wars. I know that sounds a bit dark, but my preference for this genre is simply because in my experience, the greatest good is depicted against the backdrop of great destruction. The pathos and the brutality that any war brings with it, allows authors to dive into emotions so deep that it is bound to touch your heart.
So when I heard of this novel, which is basically a romantic plot based in the World War I era, I jumped at the opportunity.
However, I feel this story didn’t exploit the complete strength of the plot.
The individual elements are conceptualized well. To begin with, the narrator of the two love stories is Aphrodite herself (the Greek goddess of love) with some help from Ares and Hades (Gods of war and death respectively). The love stories themselves seem to tick all the boxes that one looks for in romances: a young, naive couple, untimely separation, distance making the heart grow fonder, lovers breaking through all social boundaries, and a beautiful Valentine’s day rendezvous set in picturesque Paris. But it seemed as if the novel just joins these dots with quick and rushed events. Conflicts appear to get resolved a little too simply, threats faced by the main characters tackled too quickly, and Aphrodite seems to play personal guardian angel to these four people, as if other love stories of the time didn’t interest her enough.
Coming to the Greek Gods serving as narrators. Although this idea sounds exciting at first, after a while, Aphrodite’s little tactics to bring the lovers together seemed more like a third party meddling in someone’s private matters. I believe I would have liked it more had Aphrodite just been the narrator, letting the love and the romance evolve more organically.
Over all, I didn’t find the book boring or a difficult read. So if you are looking for a love story set in the war era, but don’t want to shed tears over the loss and suffering, this is a good choice. For me, I guess, the emotional scars left by stories of humanity at its worst, is what makes them memorable…
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