The Beach

This past weekend I took a short trip to a beach nearby. I went there on a bike, the weather wasn´t the most glorious but I got some photos that don´t totally disappoint me. There is something magical about the forest next to the beach. The gorgeous fresh spring green is just amazing, contrasting against the blue sky. Enjoy!

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Fitzgerald

I bet we all know the (in)famous character Jay Gatsby brought into the modern world by the tumblr favourite Leo DiCaprio. Whether through the movie or the book, most of us are probably familiar with the general plot of The Great Gatsby by the one and only Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. F. Scott Fitzgerald, born in 1896, was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are paradigmatic writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined. The author only finished four novels and by now two of them I have read: The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night.

Gatsby had been on my iPad library for several months now. I started it one day while in a hair salon but couldn´t concentrate enough. Now, having finished it less than a week ago, I can say I really did enjoy this classic. For my personal taste it was a bit too short - I would´ve prefered a longer peak into the lives of Gatsby, Daisy, and the protagonist and first person narrator Nick. It was beautifully written, full of rather complex constructions so  characteristic to Fitzgerald.

So, I reached for a book I didn´t even know I had in my bookshelf until my mum recommended it to me: Tender is the Night. I have to admit, it left a much greater impression than Gatsby and that on it´s own says a lot. Starting the book I found it interesting how the storyline mainly focused on the Divers but Rosemary was the narrator. I have always enjoyed stories that are pieced together from different bits, where the timeline is somewhat jagged and wrecked to make a beautiful whole in the end. This didn´t disappoint. 

Tender is the Night is a sad book. Utterly devastating at times but brilliant. It contained much of Fitzgerald´s own life and the writer´s journey with his beloved wife Zelda. As she herself has said - and I quote - "it makes me very sad - largely because of the beautiful, beautiful writing."

It is a story of Nicole and Dick Diver, the handsome, rich and glamorous couple living in the French Riviera. This, though, is just the facade they are putting up for the outside world. Nicole is a diagnosed schizophrenic and Dick a psychiatrist  who fell in love with the patient. Over the course of years well spent together the man grows tired of looking after his wife, ever so helpless and finds himself on a staircase of doom - spiraling down till the very bottom. 

As I previously mentioned, the whole story is told in a very Fitzgerald-like way. I am sure many people are not the biggest fan of his style of writing and while I find it hard to follow at times it is also immensely  enjoyable. Just an example: rather than say "he became relaxed" this great author writes "he assumed the posture of one relaxed". 

"A man knows things and when he stops knowing things he´s like anybody else and the thing is to get power before he stops knowing things." Through these simple words Fitzgerald manages to phrase one of the most powerful quotes in the book. Power is the keyword in a way. Having power over your own feelings, actions, controlling your inner disputes and solving the conflicts of one´s mind. 

In the last portion of the book Fitzgerald suggests that Dick had "found a delight in his own anonymity". It is a sad and a compelling idea at the same time. The once brilliant young doctor who yearned for attention had become one to feel happiness to be left on the background, to enjoy the pleasures of staying hidden and being the force behind the curtains. There is also a powerful quote from Nicole in the third and final book (Tender is the Night is sectioned into three books) which goes: "I´m not really complicated, I´m just a whole lot of different simple people". This sums her up. At the same time she both wants to know and already knows, loves and despises, adores and relents. She is a schizo. She is several people and that is what drives the wedge between her and her husband. 

The main plot finishes with this section. "The cas was finished. Doctor Diver was at liberty." Nicole had become a burden. The love never leaves but the pain becomes just too strong to handle. It is said that Dick had chosen Ophelia. He had chosen a difficult life. 

The story offers several interesting side characters that each deserve a spin off story of their own such as Tommy, Baby Warren, Abe and Mary. 

I could talk about this book for hours and hours. It was an amazing experience. 

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Compilation of photos #2

Hi again! As I haven´t had the chance to go out to take photographs these previous two days, I am going to have to put up some old content - I hope you don´t mind. So, here is yet another compilation of photos shot over the past trips I´ve been on. I hope you enjoy!

London

Bruges

Cyprus

Cyprus

Santorini

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Rainy weather

It is finally May! This year has just stormed by. Unfortunately the weather wasn´t as great as one might´ve expected from a "it-is-nearly-summer-month". I have been wanting to visit my favorite location for the longest time now and today just seemed appropriate. Surju river near Pärnu always has something to offer - whether the sun in shining or it is raining. Enjoy!

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First impressions on "The Eye of the World" and my thoughts on Tolkien

Today I thought I´d try out audio books - why not since the excerpts are free! So, I decided to download The Eye of the World, which is the first book of The Wheel of Time  fantasy series written by American author Robert Jordan. I didn´t have too high hopes going into the book as it was just as a pastime activity and I was not looking for a real long-lasting impression or reading experience. 

I am the biggest fan of Tolkien´s work - everything from his poems which leave you pondering upon the touched subjects for a long time, to his LotR novels, The Hobbit, Silmarillion and so on. Tolkien has enchanted me with his unusual ability to create new well thought-out dimensions and universes. Let us not forget that this grand old man made up a whole language and a detailed history of his own world - the Middle Earth. The style of his writing is truly amazing and impeccable - it catches your attention from the very first word and keeps you on the edge till the end. Still, he manages to have longe descriptive parts entwined with the action-packed portions of the book, which really does make his works masterpieces.

After this long and out of topic rant, let´s get back on the subject. I had previously read on Wikipedia that Robert Jordan had stated that he consciously intended the early chapters of The Eye of the World to evoke the Shire of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Starting the audio book with that prior knowledge certainly made me pay more attention to the similarities and parallels. There is a lot, which resembles Tolkien´s world. In the very first chapter of The Eye of the World (from here on out tEotW) the main character, Rand al´Thor encounters a mystical creature that carries an uncanny resemblance to Tolkien´s Nazgûl or ringwraiths - both are on pitch black horses and wear a black cape that reaches the ground, completely silent and carry the feeling of constant fear with them. As in The Fellowship of the Ring, the book starts with a festival, huge gathering which may of may not involve a wizard or a soothsayer and fireworks. Bilbo´s birthday celebration is hard to forget and for me it was difficult to view this book on it´s own when there are so many similar storylines.

A recurring motive in tEotW was the long winter that had been troubling the people of the Two Rivers district. It might just be me being a complete high fantasy buff, but this seems an awful lot like A Song of Ice and Fire by Martin. I´ll have to give it to Robert Jordan here though as Martin´s work was published several years after tEotW.

The writing style didn´t bother me. As I was listening to the book, it was pleasurable and quite easy to follow. I am not sure if I want to keep reading it after listening the excerpt but I guess we´ll see. Right now I am trying to conquer American literature of the 20th century. If you have any great suggestions, let me know! 

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My hometown

Almost every description of every town in Estonia is somewhat similar and includes the words "parks, green, woodlands". Although most of the times these often overly positive overviews are at least somewhat false, if the talk about Pärnu, my hometown, we have hit the jackpot. In my eyes, Pärnu is a prime example of a beautiful city, which offers numerous recreational areas. During this time of the year I personally  find them exceptionally beautiful. Having lived in a town for my whole life, it never ceases to surprise me how keeping an open mind and just having a look around yourself can change the perspective of things. 

Here are some shots from today of Pärnu. Enjoy!

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Random shots from this weekend

Today I decided to share some of my favourite random shots of my beautiful country Estonia. As I previously mentioned in a post, I went to the Southern part of the country and found some hidden gems. Enjoy! :) 

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A compilation of photos

Just to kick things off, I am going to post a pretty big selection of my trip to the Benelux countries this summer. No long stories this time, just photos. Enjoy!

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About me

Hello!

My name is Helo and I am a 16 year old girl from Estonia. In this blog I will write about everything I love - which is art in its many forms and travelling.

The story behind this blog... Obviously this is not my first attempt at blogging. I believe most of us, the teenagers of the 21st century, have given it a shot - why not, it is entertaining and you are not bored. The reason why I didn´t pursue this hobby of writing blog posts was because I had no audience.

I have reached the point where I don´t care whether or not people are reading this blog. For one, I created it to have my memories tucked away in a safe place and secondly it helps me broaden my horizon and learn more.

I am a total newbie at web design. So sorry for any mishaps. All of the photos on my home page are taken by me. If you have any requests, ideas, complaints, feel free to express your opinion by posting a comment or contacting me on my email heloliissoodla@gmail.com

I hope you stay on my page for a little more than 2 seconds!

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My favourite artists no 1

I would like to tell you about one of my favourite artists. Not the most common choice, nor is he a "teen fave" who got attention by being showcast on a tv series or anything like that. There is something grimly beautiful about the works of Arnold Böcklin. 

Arnold Böcklin was a Swiss symbolist painter of the 19th century. Influenced by Romanticism his painting is symbolist with mythological subjects often overlapping with the Pre-Raphaelites. His pictures portray mythological, fantastical figures along classical architecture constructions (often revealing an obsession with death) creating a strange, fantasy world. 

Böcklin is best known for his five versions (painted in 1880-1886) of Isle of the Dead, which partly evokes the cemetery close to his studio and where his baby daughter Maria had been buried. An early version of the painting was commissioned by a Madame Berna, a widow who wanted a painting with a dream-like atmosphere

What draws me in, is the magical feeling, the sense of creativeness and fantasy that erupts from the painting. It is a painting to dream of, to create stories around. Böcklin has left so many loose ends not giving the story behind the piece. This is what makes it truly remarkable - it sparks interest and allows us create our own tales around what this great man has given us. 

Isle of the Dead is also a symphonic poem composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It was inspired by the very same painting by Böcklin.

The music begins by suggesting the sound of the oars of Charon as they meet the waters of the river Styx. In contrast to the theme of death, the piece also depicts breathing, creating a holistic reflection on how life and death are intertwined.

One way to see the painting is through mythological allusions and stories from Greek mythology as did Rachmaninoff. Charon was the the ferryman of Hades who carried souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx (the very same which made Achilles immortal with it´s holy water) and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.

In the world which revolves around media, movies and action us, the kids of the generation, might associate the painting more with some contemporary fantasy tales such as The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. There is no arguing though - Böcklin was an amazing painter!

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Võru

Every time you discover something new, you grow. You see things better and enjoy the magic and excitement of exploring. This weekend I visited the Southern part of Estonia and the county which hosts our highest peak Munamägi.

The pinewoods that just smell divine are absolutely beautiful. Estonia is often called the land of one thousand lakes - there are about 1200 of them here and some of the most gorgeous ones are located here in Võru. The completely still water surfaces which reflect the surrounding nature - just divine.

It finally feels like summer! It is extremely unusual for it to be as warm as it is right now. If it were a normal year, we´d all be freezing our noses off right now - guess we are lucky for once as it is around 20 degrees here at the moment.

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