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.
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.
bookpossum's review against another edition
4.0
Very powerful. In the section covering the Great War, the feeling of dread of the loss of one young man after another is almost palpable. The blows of those losses were of course repeated endlessly in all the countries involved in that disastrous conflict. It is a wonder that people who had experienced that were able to pick up their shattered lives and make something of them after it was over.
The section covering Brittain's life after the end of the War is interesting because of her involvement with the promotion of the League of Nations, her progress as a writer, and her first-hand witness of the disastrous treatment of defeated Germany. This, combined with the painfully slow improvement in attitudes towards women - the vote, the conferring of degrees earned but previously not awarded, the election of women to Parliament - shows that it was possible to go on with life. On a personal level, she achieved a level of happiness by the time of her marriage that she had not thought she would ever experience again.
But it is the section covering her experience of the Great War that will stay with me, because of the depth of its pain and despair.
The section covering Brittain's life after the end of the War is interesting because of her involvement with the promotion of the League of Nations, her progress as a writer, and her first-hand witness of the disastrous treatment of defeated Germany. This, combined with the painfully slow improvement in attitudes towards women - the vote, the conferring of degrees earned but previously not awarded, the election of women to Parliament - shows that it was possible to go on with life. On a personal level, she achieved a level of happiness by the time of her marriage that she had not thought she would ever experience again.
But it is the section covering her experience of the Great War that will stay with me, because of the depth of its pain and despair.
poetskings's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
suckadickyouloser's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.0
barrysweezey's review against another edition
What an intense person; humbling reading. Her first thirty years were striving and suffering and getting no closer to her goals. First wave feminist. While she was at Oxford, women could take all the classes they wanted, but they couldn't matriculate. That changed during her last year, so she was among the first female graduates.
madness_personified's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
Beautifully written, I have read very few autobiographies but this has become one of my favourite reads. It inspired such a profound sense of grief that I felt I was mourning with Vera. Overall it was captivating and beautiful if very sad for parts.