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hewlettelaine's review against another edition
4.0
A very poignant and heartbreaking memoir of Brittain's WW1 experiences
shosh's review against another edition
5.0
Poignant, heart-wrenching, reflective, but above all one of the most raw depictions of the impact of the Great War on ordinary lives. Though Brittain's young romance plays a large part in the book, this is not a love story. It's also not a war story. It's coming of age in an entirely unprecedented era. I think what makes this most unique is that it's a woman's voice. That's a rarity in the war memoir genre as it is, but it's especially interesting in this war, as women's roles in education, society, and wartime efforts is in transition.
kimoleary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
agapsch's review against another edition
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.
willowbiblio's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
"One had to go on living because it was less trouble than finding a way out, but the early ideals of the war were all shattered, trampled into the mud which covered the bodies of those with whom I had shared them."
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I cried at least 4 separate times while reading this book. The constant awareness from Brittain and her loved ones of the closeness of death was just astounding. It was truly heartbreaking to witness Brittain's transformation from a passionate, sure teenage Oxford student to an ex-nurse who lost almost all the contemporaries that were dear to her.
The losses of Roland and Edward were especially poignant as they deeply understood Brittain. They also felt this major drive to put themselves at the Front and right in the thick of things, which ultimately led to their demise. But it was this indoctrinated characterization of bravery, heroism, and patriotism that led to such immense waste and loss of life during WWI.
We witness a kind of awakening in Brittain that is completely devastating. To then witness her attempt to find some kind of purpose and meaning in a world of peers who have no way to relate to her, and vice versa, was incredibly sad.
I took off a star because I really had to push through the first 50 pages- they just didn't capture me. Similarly, much of the last 50-100 pages sort of lost me. I'm not 100% sure why, maybe it was the pacing or the dichotomy when held up to the depth of what occurred during the body of the novel (the war years). At any rate, this was a beautiful book and I especially loved the inclusion of her and Roland's poetry.
---------------------
I cried at least 4 separate times while reading this book. The constant awareness from Brittain and her loved ones of the closeness of death was just astounding. It was truly heartbreaking to witness Brittain's transformation from a passionate, sure teenage Oxford student to an ex-nurse who lost almost all the contemporaries that were dear to her.
We witness a kind of awakening in Brittain that is completely devastating. To then witness her attempt to find some kind of purpose and meaning in a world of peers who have no way to relate to her, and vice versa, was incredibly sad.
I took off a star because I really had to push through the first 50 pages- they just didn't capture me. Similarly, much of the last 50-100 pages sort of lost me. I'm not 100% sure why, maybe it was the pacing or the dichotomy when held up to the depth of what occurred during the body of the novel (the war years). At any rate, this was a beautiful book and I especially loved the inclusion of her and Roland's poetry.
nikiniki's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
spazmatikdingo's review against another edition
Became a drag. This book took me around 5 years to almost finish, there are better books out there to spend time on than this. If this book taught me anything it was to not waste time on a book you find dragged out and redundant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
perjacxis's review against another edition
I really struggle with rating this and have to admit that don't feel comfortable rating a memoir. There definitely were some parts which interested me more than others but all in all, it was an interesting view into the lives and horrors of the war generation.
middleone95's review against another edition
5.0
The first three quarters of The Testament of Youth is really a spectacular journey through Vera Brittain’s young adulthood. You feel like you’re growing with her and there’s a notable difference in the tone of voice between the beginning chapters and where she ends the books despite Vera being much older at the time of writing. What was particularly astonishing and enjoyable was the level of detail she managed to cram into the pages, from eating omelettes with her fellow nurses at Etaples to walking by the drained lakes in St James’ Park and her frustration at conversation topics on her return to England. Her record keeping and memory alone are worth reading this for. She writes well and self-consciously of her life and relationships as well as her wider role within the world and as the reader you’re forced to face some quite stark realities of the First World War from a woman’s point of view. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn’t mind a deep dive into a larger life.
jessicamusch's review against another edition
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.