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readbooks_fightpatriarchy's review against another edition
5.0
Why did I wait so long to read this book? Captivating through 600+ pages.
abeth_parker's review against another edition
5.0
I won't even try to capture this book using my own words. If you like WW1 history, read it. If you like memoirs, read it. If you like stories that make you feel like you're living the life of the character, read it. This book affected me in a way that few have. 100 years have passed since Vera Brittain experienced the war and I couldn't have asked for a better guide to those events.
kiriamarin's review against another edition
4.0
Testamento da Juventude não é só um relato de guerra, mais também aa memórias autobiograficas da vida de Vera Brittain, que foi enfermeira na Primeira Guerra Mundial,desde a infância numa provincial cidade inglesa até o período pós guerra e suas realizações intelectuais ,independência e despertar feminista . Portanto é um olhar interessante , intimista e feminino entre tantas publicações seja ficção ou não ficção sobre este "desastre" como ela chama a a WW1 e suas consequências para a velha e nova geração ,juventudes roubadas.
A obra é dividida em duas partes: Na primeira conhecemos Vera, sua família, seu irmão Edward, que ela ama e tem uma profunda amizade e proximidade.seu cotidiano em uma família que ainda segue os moldes vitorianos,comum e feliz.Ela é uma moça vivaz que gosta de ler poesia e almeja estudar numa universidade e afinal consegue mesmo com inicial desaprovação do pai.
Abre-se uma novo caminho de sonhos e possibilidades para o futuro, um desgarramento desses moldes opressivos da sua família . Porém tudo vem a ser destruído pela chegada da guerra.
Aqui começa a parte mais dolorosa das suas memórias , o esmorecer de Vera,da sociedade, que até então ingenuamente pensava que a guerra seria algo breve ,sem muitas mortes,jovens que sentiam um orgulho patriótico em servir a patria mas a realidade é imensamente cruel e afetou fortemente toda uma geração psicologicamente , os que partiram ,os voltaram e os que ficaram, com as penúria de escassez do dia a dia .
E ainda assim sua escrita consegue ser poética, mesmo com tanta agonia desespero e loucura deste período por tantas pessoas queridas que perdeu sucessivamente,: o irmão, o ñoivo Roland e amigos próximos por isto esta levou mais de 30 anos para termina-las.
A segunda parte são os vestígios e sombras do pós guerra, de uma mulher feminista e intelectual e uma análise dos anos loucos e a chamada geração perdida,com sua sede de vida para espantar a morte, que mudou radicalmente as convenções sociais, ainda mais no campo sexual e moral e profissional para mulheres, pois em meio a guerra as mulheres inglesas finalmente conseguiram o direito ao voto.
É uma obra bem extensa, com a primeira parte mais reflexiva e intensa e literária para o leitor a segunda mais tediosa, com boas análises sociologicas de um evento que modificou o mundo.
Uma obra em memória dos mortos para não esquecê-los...
"'Parece-me que a guerra fará uma grande divisão de' antes 'e' depois 'na história do mundo, quase se não tão grande quanto a divisão' AC 'e' DC 'feita pelo nascimento de Cristo "
A obra é dividida em duas partes: Na primeira conhecemos Vera, sua família, seu irmão Edward, que ela ama e tem uma profunda amizade e proximidade.seu cotidiano em uma família que ainda segue os moldes vitorianos,comum e feliz.Ela é uma moça vivaz que gosta de ler poesia e almeja estudar numa universidade e afinal consegue mesmo com inicial desaprovação do pai.
Abre-se uma novo caminho de sonhos e possibilidades para o futuro, um desgarramento desses moldes opressivos da sua família . Porém tudo vem a ser destruído pela chegada da guerra.
Aqui começa a parte mais dolorosa das suas memórias , o esmorecer de Vera,da sociedade, que até então ingenuamente pensava que a guerra seria algo breve ,sem muitas mortes,jovens que sentiam um orgulho patriótico em servir a patria mas a realidade é imensamente cruel e afetou fortemente toda uma geração psicologicamente , os que partiram ,os voltaram e os que ficaram, com as penúria de escassez do dia a dia .
E ainda assim sua escrita consegue ser poética, mesmo com tanta agonia desespero e loucura deste período por tantas pessoas queridas que perdeu sucessivamente,: o irmão, o ñoivo Roland e amigos próximos por isto esta levou mais de 30 anos para termina-las.
A segunda parte são os vestígios e sombras do pós guerra, de uma mulher feminista e intelectual e uma análise dos anos loucos e a chamada geração perdida,com sua sede de vida para espantar a morte, que mudou radicalmente as convenções sociais, ainda mais no campo sexual e moral e profissional para mulheres, pois em meio a guerra as mulheres inglesas finalmente conseguiram o direito ao voto.
É uma obra bem extensa, com a primeira parte mais reflexiva e intensa e literária para o leitor a segunda mais tediosa, com boas análises sociologicas de um evento que modificou o mundo.
Uma obra em memória dos mortos para não esquecê-los...
"'Parece-me que a guerra fará uma grande divisão de' antes 'e' depois 'na história do mundo, quase se não tão grande quanto a divisão' AC 'e' DC 'feita pelo nascimento de Cristo "
circularcubes's review against another edition
5.0
June 22, 2017
Once again, Testament of Youth has immersed me fully into the life of its author, Vera Brittain. It is a testament (heh) of Brittain's skill that this book has the power to completely transport its readers into the life of a privileged young woman from rural England in the years surrounding the Great War. I remember the shock of first reading her words three years ago and finding that Brittain did not seem all that far removed from myself, between her frustration with her parents, her awareness of generational divide, and her open discussion of her first vague awarenesses of sex. Brittain does an admirable job in this memoir of helping readers to step directly into her shoes as she journeys from headstrong scholar-to-be at the beginning of the war to a rather bitter, alienated, and lonely woman in the decade following Armistice.
Although she clearly intended the book for audiences in the 1930's, for the most part, it still translates well to audiences in the 2010's. There are a few missteps - she relies rather too heavily on name-dropping people who have long since lapsed into obscurity, and, I suspect, were known only in small particular circles at the time of her publishing. This, along with numerous mentions of her parent's troubles finding a "creditable" and reliable servant during the war years and a brief reproduction of a conversation overheard between injured soldiers which relies heavily on phonetic accents belie Brittain's strong sense of economic class, which is otherwise not fully discussed. I also wish Brittain was more frank about her relationships - she describes a single kiss with Roland and her general desire for children, but she doesn't go into further detail. She also had other flirtations and relationships towards the end of the war and upon her return to college, but they are lightly sketched out. It's clear that Brittain remained endlessly devoted to Roland and perhaps wanted to keep their relationship at the forefront of the readers minds, but I desperately wanted to see how she moved on after his death, and I wish she gave us more details on that. The book also loses a lot of steam post-Armistice, and although it's satisfying to see Brittain making steps forward in her life, I wish a bit of the bitter, alienated feminist years were condensed and better articulated.
All in all, this is a powerfully moving book. The 2015 film version is absolutely beautiful (and made me cry about six times) but nothing really compares to this extended and largely elegant portrayal of Brittain's war experiences. I would recommend this unhesitatingly to anyone with the slightest interest in the topic.
August 16, 2014
Vera Brittain's story is incredible. This book really makes World War One come alive, and especially illuminates what the experience was like for young English women such as Brittain herself. To lose almost everything that brings meaning to your life and somehow find the strength to move on and still contribute positively to your surroundings and society as a whole - I hope to be half the woman she was.
Once again, Testament of Youth has immersed me fully into the life of its author, Vera Brittain. It is a testament (heh) of Brittain's skill that this book has the power to completely transport its readers into the life of a privileged young woman from rural England in the years surrounding the Great War. I remember the shock of first reading her words three years ago and finding that Brittain did not seem all that far removed from myself, between her frustration with her parents, her awareness of generational divide, and her open discussion of her first vague awarenesses of sex. Brittain does an admirable job in this memoir of helping readers to step directly into her shoes as she journeys from headstrong scholar-to-be at the beginning of the war to a rather bitter, alienated, and lonely woman in the decade following Armistice.
Although she clearly intended the book for audiences in the 1930's, for the most part, it still translates well to audiences in the 2010's. There are a few missteps - she relies rather too heavily on name-dropping people who have long since lapsed into obscurity, and, I suspect, were known only in small particular circles at the time of her publishing. This, along with numerous mentions of her parent's troubles finding a "creditable" and reliable servant during the war years and a brief reproduction of a conversation overheard between injured soldiers which relies heavily on phonetic accents belie Brittain's strong sense of economic class, which is otherwise not fully discussed. I also wish Brittain was more frank about her relationships - she describes a single kiss with Roland and her general desire for children, but she doesn't go into further detail. She also had other flirtations and relationships towards the end of the war and upon her return to college, but they are lightly sketched out. It's clear that Brittain remained endlessly devoted to Roland and perhaps wanted to keep their relationship at the forefront of the readers minds, but I desperately wanted to see how she moved on after his death, and I wish she gave us more details on that. The book also loses a lot of steam post-Armistice, and although it's satisfying to see Brittain making steps forward in her life, I wish a bit of the bitter, alienated feminist years were condensed and better articulated.
All in all, this is a powerfully moving book. The 2015 film version is absolutely beautiful (and made me cry about six times) but nothing really compares to this extended and largely elegant portrayal of Brittain's war experiences. I would recommend this unhesitatingly to anyone with the slightest interest in the topic.
August 16, 2014
Vera Brittain's story is incredible. This book really makes World War One come alive, and especially illuminates what the experience was like for young English women such as Brittain herself. To lose almost everything that brings meaning to your life and somehow find the strength to move on and still contribute positively to your surroundings and society as a whole - I hope to be half the woman she was.
vr_alyssa's review against another edition
4.0
2021 review:
It took me a while to get through this book, because it is a lot: it is dense, thick, and just a lot of information about the war (in the form of lived experience and pain). I will re-read it one day, when I'm not in university anymore, and think about all its qualities in light of life writing rather than cultural memory.
It took me a while to get through this book, because it is a lot: it is dense, thick, and just a lot of information about the war (in the form of lived experience and pain). I will re-read it one day, when I'm not in university anymore, and think about all its qualities in light of life writing rather than cultural memory.
agnela's review against another edition
It is just too long for what is actually on the pages. I know that the author might have thought that every detail was important, but it really was not.
It is feminist, it is real, it has personal story, but not everything had to be included from that time.
I just have not reached for this book in a month and I know I am tired, working every day, and my taste in books are a bit different for these heavier days, but I do not see myself ending this in a long time, and neither do I see myself being sad and regretting giving this book away t someone who might love it more than me.
It is feminist, it is real, it has personal story, but not everything had to be included from that time.
I just have not reached for this book in a month and I know I am tired, working every day, and my taste in books are a bit different for these heavier days, but I do not see myself ending this in a long time, and neither do I see myself being sad and regretting giving this book away t someone who might love it more than me.
debbiecuddy's review against another edition
5.0
How is it that, until recently, I had never heard of this book? This is a beautifully written memoir of WWI and the terrible losses that followed. It also shows the social changes that took place, especially for women, during that time. The author was born just a few years before my grandmothers were born and I wish they were here now so that I could discuss this book with them and talk about their memories of that time.
terrim21's review against another edition
4.0
I owned this book at one time and foolishly gave it away. Now I'm an RN and think I need to re-acquire a copy.
rebeccaasavage's review against another edition
5.0
I remember the solipsistic thrill I had when I first read this as part of a class assignment. Vera was speaking the truth I believed in, and I adored everything about her for it. It’s so interesting to read landmark books like this again and again at different stages of my life—yes, the political theory, yes, the love for literature, yes, the determination to find a life as a woman that fit her definition of good, yes, the commitment to her ideals.
Now, I am so much more laconic about the great questions of international relations. For her it was the most compelling and existential question of the age, and her motivation for work landed there and stayed for a lifetime. Much as I felt when I listened to someone describe their love for the Red Sox, I don’t think there is anything I love that much. What is something that holds my attention so deeply that I will pour energy into exploring it for decades? Not what I studied in college, certainly, but my university experience wasn’t interrupted by four years’ service as a nurse on the Western Front of World War I.
Now, I am so much more laconic about the great questions of international relations. For her it was the most compelling and existential question of the age, and her motivation for work landed there and stayed for a lifetime. Much as I felt when I listened to someone describe their love for the Red Sox, I don’t think there is anything I love that much. What is something that holds my attention so deeply that I will pour energy into exploring it for decades? Not what I studied in college, certainly, but my university experience wasn’t interrupted by four years’ service as a nurse on the Western Front of World War I.