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A review by rebeccaasavage
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
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.