captaincocanutty's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing autobiography/memoir of what it means to go through war and recover from it. Vera Brittain is a fantastic writer, and I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I was able to connect with her, I was honestly expecting a bit of a stuffy read, but it just jumped right off the page.
gregoreads's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars? It’s always hard to rate nonfiction, especially memoirs, because there is no plot to judge. But based on Vera Brittain’s writing, which balanced out descriptiveness, ornamentation, humour, earnestness, and anecdotes so perfectly, this was such a perfect example of a memoir. I was drawn in from start to finish and felt for Vera so strongly.
I can’t believe how relevant Testament of Youth is 90 years later. If I read a historical fiction novel with a heroine like her, I’d think the author was trying too hard to fit a 2020 heroine in. She is a staunch feminist, a pacifist, rails against capitalism, balances the bad or scary things with wry humour. Some lines are so directly relevant to the happenings of the world right now that they almost gave me chills.
I highly recommend reading this. The writing is pretty accessible, the material is highly engaging, and you’ll find yourself attached to Vera and all her loved ones and seeing the time period (and its inhabitants) in an entirely new light.
I can’t believe how relevant Testament of Youth is 90 years later. If I read a historical fiction novel with a heroine like her, I’d think the author was trying too hard to fit a 2020 heroine in. She is a staunch feminist, a pacifist, rails against capitalism, balances the bad or scary things with wry humour. Some lines are so directly relevant to the happenings of the world right now that they almost gave me chills.
I highly recommend reading this. The writing is pretty accessible, the material is highly engaging, and you’ll find yourself attached to Vera and all her loved ones and seeing the time period (and its inhabitants) in an entirely new light.
brightbeaming's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.25
Acredito que – para além de trabalhos da escola manhosos – nunca tenha escrito qualquer tipo de crítica a algum livro, não obstante, este conjunto de páginas merece ter algumas palavras escritas sobre ele; vocábulos inquietos que servirão como agradecimento pela sua estadia num papel. Confesso que demorei demasiado tempo a ler este livro. Recordo-me que no início de 2021, ouvi falar sobre este livro algures – uma biografia espantosa sobre uma enfermeira na Primeira Guerra Mundial que perdeu quatro pessoas (dois amigos, o seu irmão e o seu amado) num contexto de guerra, que nem eles sabiam muito bem no que ia acabar. Pareceu-me extraordinário, mesmo que trágico. Despertou-me uma séria curiosidade, já que estes livros sempre têm perspetivas masculinas e violentas – agora tinha posse de uma perspetiva feminina e feroz.
Não é um livro fácil (tanto que só o estou a terminar mais de um ano depois de o ter começado), mas, decerto, é um livro onde se consegue mergulhar, ficar submerso, experienciar todos os bocados que a autora nos apresenta; saborear as suas experiências, lutar com ela, prantear os seus agouros, fazer o luto com ela, escrever versos, observar o quotidiano – tudo isso, enquanto estamos perante meras palavras, uma vez escritas num papel, agora transferidas para um papel mais limpo, menos um rascunho. Vera Brittain, com as suas convicções duras, observações prepotentes e a magia do que nos consegue transmitir, conseguiu fazer uma Obra de Arte através da sua melancolia, do seu pesar. Desde a sua infância, à sua vida numa Inglaterra purgada por costumes vitorianos, até à sua rebeldia de uma Geração Perdida à tentativa da normalidade num mundo pós-guerra, onde havia uma dicotomia entre modernidade e os costumes.
Embora nos percamos no livro, é, definitivamente, um livro do seu tempo. Muitas das referências feitas no livro só fazem sentido caso haja um estudo intensivo de História ou se tenha sido inglês nos anos 20, são experiências muito específicas e pouco populares. No entanto, o seu pensamento progressivo faz com que o livro pareça mais jovem do que é – Vera consegue cativar leitores de gerações futuras com os seus discursos e opiniões de um tempo já longínquo, um pouco apagado pelas décadas seguintes. O seu feminismo, seu pacifismo e progresso até ao socialismo são lições para quem lê posteriormente – uma mulher invicta que se atreveu a pensar para além das suas circunstâncias, que usou a sua educação para alcançar um bem-maior, que quando as limitações surgiram, mirou-as frontalmente e desviou-se, fazendo o seu nome. Algo bastante agradável de ler, foi, também, a sua sensibilidade. Os seus medos, as suas preocupações, que, mesmo sendo uma figura de aço, também tinha certas concepções sobre o amor, sobre relações interpessoais, opiniões pouco simpáticas sobre certas pessoas, dissertações sobre fisionomia e psique de quem está a seu redor. Não são simplesmente memórias debitadas, mas a narração de um conto contado por quem o viveu e o quer transmitir, uma tertúlia pessoal, um jantar de família.
No Universo de Vera Brittain, existem trincheiras, existe lama, existe sangue, existem ligaduras, no entanto, existe também, uma geração de mulheres vestidas de branco que segurou este conflito grandioso, apenas com as suas próprias mãos (e por vezes treinos pouco intensivos por causa da escassez). Ainda bem que Vera Brittain será sempre relembrada pela História, que não se submeteu à insignificância que tanto lhe tentaram impingir.
E, sim, as últimas 200 páginas (depois da Guerra acabar, sensivelmente) foram intrigantes, mas, com todo o pesar, foram penosas. Uma caneta muito densa, muito intimista – o relatório dos acontecimentos foi doloroso, contudo, o pensamento de Vera em relação à sua condição foi sempre bem-vindo, sensível e aprazível.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death and Grief
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.