A review by jessicamusch
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

4.0

This is a beautiful book about the plight of women in the early 20th century and a story of the unimaginable pain of a generation.

Why is it that men get all the glory and excitement of war and women get all the dreary parts?

I loved the prose and the perspective of a woman looking back over her younger immature self like an older sister.

I know this seems to be a point that other reviews have complained about, but I loved spending time reading about the world at the turn of the century and how much life changed after WW1, especially for women. 

I also loved the exploration of men returning from war and the women who worked for the war effort being displaced and their efforts unrecognised, and the feeling that the only person who cared about her 4 years with the army was herself. 

This really put into perspective the struggles of finding one’s place in the world in your 20s.