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A review by agapsch
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
5.0
For all her self effacement throughout this book, Vera Brittain certainly knows how to craft a memoir. Testament of Youth was emotional, riveting, moving, and introspective.
Beginning with the author’s childhood and stretching to her marriage in 1925, this memoir accurately sketches out the experiences of a member of the so called ‘Lost Generation’— the individuals that came of age during WWI. Brittain was a VAD nurse during the war and served on multiple different fronts before returning to Oxford to complete her studies after the war ended. However despite surviving physically, she did not remain unscathed— she lost her brother, fiancé, and two other close friends during the war. (Apologies if you think this is a spoiler, but most editions include this information with the book’s blurb). It is obvious that the soldiers of WWI suffered, but Brittain’s account also illustrates the discomforts and heartaches nurses, VADs, and women faced during the war. However I found it interesting how she always noted that her struggles were easier to bear than her brother’s and fiancé’s, and that “doing it for them” was how she worked through the hardship.
Measuring more than 650 pages, this book incorporates letters, diary entries, flyers, poems, and various other scraps of writing. By including both contemporary poems and classics, as well as detailed, beautiful language, Testament of Youth truly is a literary work. Brittain’s honesty and personal anecdotes do much to immerse the reader in her life. I found myself caring more about the fate of her loved ones than the minutiae of battles and war politics. At times it could be hard to understand what colloquialism she was referring to (for example, he brother requested she send him a “funny cat”, which I think means a postcard with a cat on it), especially if one knows little about this period, but the important sentiments of this work are obvious.
Brittain was clearly a feminist and pacifist, as well as a scholar and journalist. She denounced the war, at once point arguing that her generation was “hoodwinked” by tales of glory to urge them to go to war. Brittain later described her pacifist work as similar to war work, but with the outcome being much more positive. Other topics throughout the book include international affairs, degrees for women, and women’s suffrage. Most interestingly, Brittain also commented on the double standard arising as more women were joining the professional work force— women were expected to balance work and family, while men were allowed to pursue whichever career they so wished without having to consider their home life as greatly. For this reason Brittain certainly appeared ahead of her time.
As the memoir progressed I found it difficult to stay engaged in the last 200 pages or so. At this point the war had ended and Brittain was detailing her involvement in politics and international affairs over the years 1920-1925 or so. I understand why she included these years in her novel, as her experience during the war obviously directly influenced her view of politics. However I personally do not have much interest in British politics of almost a century ago, so this was a less engaging part of the book for me.
Despite my interest waning towards the end, I still maintain my high rating of this book. Brittain’s memoir is so important because it is unique from other war memoirs. This is one of the few (if only) female-voiced memoirs of this period. Brittain stayed in constant touch with her brother, fiancé and male friends throughout the war, and included the various letters they exchanged. Thus this memoir is an honest, multi-faceted, and holistic take on WWI.
Beginning with the author’s childhood and stretching to her marriage in 1925, this memoir accurately sketches out the experiences of a member of the so called ‘Lost Generation’— the individuals that came of age during WWI. Brittain was a VAD nurse during the war and served on multiple different fronts before returning to Oxford to complete her studies after the war ended. However despite surviving physically, she did not remain unscathed— she lost her brother, fiancé, and two other close friends during the war. (Apologies if you think this is a spoiler, but most editions include this information with the book’s blurb). It is obvious that the soldiers of WWI suffered, but Brittain’s account also illustrates the discomforts and heartaches nurses, VADs, and women faced during the war. However I found it interesting how she always noted that her struggles were easier to bear than her brother’s and fiancé’s, and that “doing it for them” was how she worked through the hardship.
Measuring more than 650 pages, this book incorporates letters, diary entries, flyers, poems, and various other scraps of writing. By including both contemporary poems and classics, as well as detailed, beautiful language, Testament of Youth truly is a literary work. Brittain’s honesty and personal anecdotes do much to immerse the reader in her life. I found myself caring more about the fate of her loved ones than the minutiae of battles and war politics. At times it could be hard to understand what colloquialism she was referring to (for example, he brother requested she send him a “funny cat”, which I think means a postcard with a cat on it), especially if one knows little about this period, but the important sentiments of this work are obvious.
Brittain was clearly a feminist and pacifist, as well as a scholar and journalist. She denounced the war, at once point arguing that her generation was “hoodwinked” by tales of glory to urge them to go to war. Brittain later described her pacifist work as similar to war work, but with the outcome being much more positive. Other topics throughout the book include international affairs, degrees for women, and women’s suffrage. Most interestingly, Brittain also commented on the double standard arising as more women were joining the professional work force— women were expected to balance work and family, while men were allowed to pursue whichever career they so wished without having to consider their home life as greatly. For this reason Brittain certainly appeared ahead of her time.
As the memoir progressed I found it difficult to stay engaged in the last 200 pages or so. At this point the war had ended and Brittain was detailing her involvement in politics and international affairs over the years 1920-1925 or so. I understand why she included these years in her novel, as her experience during the war obviously directly influenced her view of politics. However I personally do not have much interest in British politics of almost a century ago, so this was a less engaging part of the book for me.
Despite my interest waning towards the end, I still maintain my high rating of this book. Brittain’s memoir is so important because it is unique from other war memoirs. This is one of the few (if only) female-voiced memoirs of this period. Brittain stayed in constant touch with her brother, fiancé and male friends throughout the war, and included the various letters they exchanged. Thus this memoir is an honest, multi-faceted, and holistic take on WWI.