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baruchbarnes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
ella43688's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.25
So sad and felt so raw. A great historical commentary
captaincocanutty's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing autobiography/memoir of what it means to go through war and recover from it. Vera Brittain is a fantastic writer, and I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I was able to connect with her, I was honestly expecting a bit of a stuffy read, but it just jumped right off the page.
ferris_mx's review against another edition
4.0
Superbly written, but I was surprised. This book was not the pacifist presentation I expected, although there's an element of pacifism. Feminism is the major theme, and it's shocking how far we've come in the past 100 years. The secondary theme is the compromise between what we owe to the dead and what we owe to ourselves in continuing to live.
Two comments on the feminism element. First, the Brittain is self-congratulatory about her ability to discuss sexual matters with her friends, unlike her parents and grandparents generation. She sounds like a '60s woman! So it was interesting to see how each generation believes they have demystified sex compared to their benighted parents. Second, except for a brief moment 7/8 through the book, Brittain is concerned about the role of women in society, but completely oblivious to the class she represents and the lot of the lower classes that support her.
Two comments on the feminism element. First, the Brittain is self-congratulatory about her ability to discuss sexual matters with her friends, unlike her parents and grandparents generation. She sounds like a '60s woman! So it was interesting to see how each generation believes they have demystified sex compared to their benighted parents. Second, except for a brief moment 7/8 through the book, Brittain is concerned about the role of women in society, but completely oblivious to the class she represents and the lot of the lower classes that support her.
gosia_maria99's review against another edition
5.0
You know you're marrying into the right family when your future sister-in-law gives you her favourite book as a "welcome to the family" present. This was a fascinating book, well-written and I loved how much of the author's and her loved ones' poetry was scattered throughout it. To me, it showed the power of the written word - just how much of the book was excerpts of journals and letters.
csolan's review against another edition
2.0
This is only the fifth book I've reviewed in all my years on Goodreads, but it must be said: Thank God I'm done.
Please excuse my rambling in advance.
I wanted to read this book after watching the film (loosely) based on Vera Brittain's memoir, but wow. Only about half of the 608 pages actually deals with WWI, and it is very different from the movie. I know I'm being one of those philistines who thinks the movie is better than the book, but hear me out.
It took me three years (3 YEARS) to read this book because of how long winded and boring it was. I would have to put it down for months at a time, but then begrudgingly pick it back up, because I am unfortunately a completionist. Brittain writes in an outdated style, which is fair enough considering she wrote the book almost 100 years ago, but it makes some of the paragraphs almost incomprehensible (and I'd like to point out that I have a Master's degree).
Though there are certainly some interesting parts where she describes her time nursing during WWI, in the sections after 1918, she is constantly referencing obscure events and changes in post-WWI British political minutiae, and refers to "important" people as simply "Mrs Brown", "M---n" or sometimes she just abbreviates names to one or two letters (WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE??).
She writes about things that people in the 21st century probably have no reference point for as if they are common knowledge (maybe they were 100 years ago, or if you are a scholar of 1910s-1920s British history?), and her pretentious writing makes it seem that if you don't know what's going on, then the jokes on you and you can go F off. She spends pages and pages and pages going on about "reading at Oxford" and how amazing she is for doing so.
I sympathize with Brittain and her whole generation of lost youths; what they went through I wouldn't wish on anyone. But neither would I wish reading this book on anyone either. Two stars because I came out the other side, and I'm giving a little leeway because maybe I just read this in the wrong time period.
Please excuse my rambling in advance.
I wanted to read this book after watching the film (loosely) based on Vera Brittain's memoir, but wow. Only about half of the 608 pages actually deals with WWI, and it is very different from the movie. I know I'm being one of those philistines who thinks the movie is better than the book, but hear me out.
It took me three years (3 YEARS) to read this book because of how long winded and boring it was. I would have to put it down for months at a time, but then begrudgingly pick it back up, because I am unfortunately a completionist. Brittain writes in an outdated style, which is fair enough considering she wrote the book almost 100 years ago, but it makes some of the paragraphs almost incomprehensible (and I'd like to point out that I have a Master's degree).
Though there are certainly some interesting parts where she describes her time nursing during WWI, in the sections after 1918, she is constantly referencing obscure events and changes in post-WWI British political minutiae, and refers to "important" people as simply "Mrs Brown", "M---n" or sometimes she just abbreviates names to one or two letters (WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE??).
She writes about things that people in the 21st century probably have no reference point for as if they are common knowledge (maybe they were 100 years ago, or if you are a scholar of 1910s-1920s British history?), and her pretentious writing makes it seem that if you don't know what's going on, then the jokes on you and you can go F off. She spends pages and pages and pages going on about "reading at Oxford" and how amazing she is for doing so.
I sympathize with Brittain and her whole generation of lost youths; what they went through I wouldn't wish on anyone. But neither would I wish reading this book on anyone either. Two stars because I came out the other side, and I'm giving a little leeway because maybe I just read this in the wrong time period.
gregoreads's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars? It’s always hard to rate nonfiction, especially memoirs, because there is no plot to judge. But based on Vera Brittain’s writing, which balanced out descriptiveness, ornamentation, humour, earnestness, and anecdotes so perfectly, this was such a perfect example of a memoir. I was drawn in from start to finish and felt for Vera so strongly.
I can’t believe how relevant Testament of Youth is 90 years later. If I read a historical fiction novel with a heroine like her, I’d think the author was trying too hard to fit a 2020 heroine in. She is a staunch feminist, a pacifist, rails against capitalism, balances the bad or scary things with wry humour. Some lines are so directly relevant to the happenings of the world right now that they almost gave me chills.
I highly recommend reading this. The writing is pretty accessible, the material is highly engaging, and you’ll find yourself attached to Vera and all her loved ones and seeing the time period (and its inhabitants) in an entirely new light.
I can’t believe how relevant Testament of Youth is 90 years later. If I read a historical fiction novel with a heroine like her, I’d think the author was trying too hard to fit a 2020 heroine in. She is a staunch feminist, a pacifist, rails against capitalism, balances the bad or scary things with wry humour. Some lines are so directly relevant to the happenings of the world right now that they almost gave me chills.
I highly recommend reading this. The writing is pretty accessible, the material is highly engaging, and you’ll find yourself attached to Vera and all her loved ones and seeing the time period (and its inhabitants) in an entirely new light.
wisteriavenusta's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.25
Acredito que – para além de trabalhos da escola manhosos – nunca tenha escrito qualquer tipo de crítica a algum livro, não obstante, este conjunto de páginas merece ter algumas palavras escritas sobre ele; vocábulos inquietos que servirão como agradecimento pela sua estadia num papel. Confesso que demorei demasiado tempo a ler este livro. Recordo-me que no início de 2021, ouvi falar sobre este livro algures – uma biografia espantosa sobre uma enfermeira na Primeira Guerra Mundial que perdeu quatro pessoas (dois amigos, o seu irmão e o seu amado) num contexto de guerra, que nem eles sabiam muito bem no que ia acabar. Pareceu-me extraordinário, mesmo que trágico. Despertou-me uma séria curiosidade, já que estes livros sempre têm perspetivas masculinas e violentas – agora tinha posse de uma perspetiva feminina e feroz.
Não é um livro fácil (tanto que só o estou a terminar mais de um ano depois de o ter começado), mas, decerto, é um livro onde se consegue mergulhar, ficar submerso, experienciar todos os bocados que a autora nos apresenta; saborear as suas experiências, lutar com ela, prantear os seus agouros, fazer o luto com ela, escrever versos, observar o quotidiano – tudo isso, enquanto estamos perante meras palavras, uma vez escritas num papel, agora transferidas para um papel mais limpo, menos um rascunho. Vera Brittain, com as suas convicções duras, observações prepotentes e a magia do que nos consegue transmitir, conseguiu fazer uma Obra de Arte através da sua melancolia, do seu pesar. Desde a sua infância, à sua vida numa Inglaterra purgada por costumes vitorianos, até à sua rebeldia de uma Geração Perdida à tentativa da normalidade num mundo pós-guerra, onde havia uma dicotomia entre modernidade e os costumes.
Embora nos percamos no livro, é, definitivamente, um livro do seu tempo. Muitas das referências feitas no livro só fazem sentido caso haja um estudo intensivo de História ou se tenha sido inglês nos anos 20, são experiências muito específicas e pouco populares. No entanto, o seu pensamento progressivo faz com que o livro pareça mais jovem do que é – Vera consegue cativar leitores de gerações futuras com os seus discursos e opiniões de um tempo já longínquo, um pouco apagado pelas décadas seguintes. O seu feminismo, seu pacifismo e progresso até ao socialismo são lições para quem lê posteriormente – uma mulher invicta que se atreveu a pensar para além das suas circunstâncias, que usou a sua educação para alcançar um bem-maior, que quando as limitações surgiram, mirou-as frontalmente e desviou-se, fazendo o seu nome. Algo bastante agradável de ler, foi, também, a sua sensibilidade. Os seus medos, as suas preocupações, que, mesmo sendo uma figura de aço, também tinha certas concepções sobre o amor, sobre relações interpessoais, opiniões pouco simpáticas sobre certas pessoas, dissertações sobre fisionomia e psique de quem está a seu redor. Não são simplesmente memórias debitadas, mas a narração de um conto contado por quem o viveu e o quer transmitir, uma tertúlia pessoal, um jantar de família.
No Universo de Vera Brittain, existem trincheiras, existe lama, existe sangue, existem ligaduras, no entanto, existe também, uma geração de mulheres vestidas de branco que segurou este conflito grandioso, apenas com as suas próprias mãos (e por vezes treinos pouco intensivos por causa da escassez). Ainda bem que Vera Brittain será sempre relembrada pela História, que não se submeteu à insignificância que tanto lhe tentaram impingir.
E, sim, as últimas 200 páginas (depois da Guerra acabar, sensivelmente) foram intrigantes, mas, com todo o pesar, foram penosas. Uma caneta muito densa, muito intimista – o relatório dos acontecimentos foi doloroso, contudo, o pensamento de Vera em relação à sua condição foi sempre bem-vindo, sensível e aprazível.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death and Grief