Wyndham's diary of herself as a 17 year old girl entering headfirst a world of decadent artists (with seemingly no qualms whatsoever) and making out with just about every man she meets is astonishingly, vividly written-- full of dialogue and sharp characterization, and hardly any girlish wondering or dreaming.

This is nearly impossible to put down, and often very erotic. But I found it unsettling, too-- there's a cold-bloodedness she and her whole world have towards sex which jars with the emotion she also seems to feel for some of the men so that I didn't get much emotional payoff from the book. It fascinated, but didn't move. For example, none of her relationships are exclusive ones; she knows all her boyfriends have other girlfriends ("mistresses," since they sleep together), and despite all the attention given to sex nobody ever seems very interested in intimacy-- or in love, despite the title.

Still it's a very quick, enjoyable read-- a bit like reading some of the short stories that used to be in Cosmopolitan.

I didn't really like Joan or any of her friends, but I didn't mind being in their company.

These are the diaries of a young girl (only 17 when the war starts) and her journey into adulthood. She becomes (or plays at being) a painter, joins the Bohemian art culture, is seduced by a variety of men and keeps this frank, funny, appalling journal. Read it - you may view your grandmother in a whole new light!

This is the second volume of Joan Wyndham's war diaries covering her time in the WAAF and her cascade love affairs with men ranging from the blue-blooded cousin of Lord Lovat to a beautiful Norwegian torpedo-boat sailor, a scarred pilot and some very raffish artists. Her description of the poet Dylan Thomas is, by itself, enough to justify buying this book. I didn't find it as compelling as 'Love Lessons', it feels too truncated and compressed, but if you enjoyed the first book you'll want to read this too.