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jenmat1197's review against another edition
3.0
This poetic book is the story of a Estonian woman who has agreed to pose as a model for a famous artist who is trying to avoid being sent into the military. Although the young girl is not that interested in politics, the world around here in 1968 Estonia cannot be ignored.
This is an interesting book, yet hard to review. The style took a lot of concentration. I did like the story, but for a short novella, it took me much longer to read than expected. You do become drawn to the main characters and hope for a good outcome. The poetic flow of the book captivates the political atmosphere of Estonia and draws attention to minute, mundane details not usually seen in books about war and unrest. I am glad I read it.
This is an interesting book, yet hard to review. The style took a lot of concentration. I did like the story, but for a short novella, it took me much longer to read than expected. You do become drawn to the main characters and hope for a good outcome. The poetic flow of the book captivates the political atmosphere of Estonia and draws attention to minute, mundane details not usually seen in books about war and unrest. I am glad I read it.
clarereadstheworld's review
3.75
The Beauty of History is set during the Prague Spring of 1968, and was written in 1991, as Estonia was on the cusp of gaining independence from Soviet occupation. The narrative follows a young unnamed woman, who poses as a model for a famous sculpture who is trying to avoid military service.
I found the narrative quite hard to follow actually, and I often didn't really understand what was going on while I was reading it. The blurb says 'language itself becomes fluid, by turns deceptive and reassuring.' I feel this is quite an accurate representation. Sometimes I knew what was going on, other timescale I felt completely lost. I think this is done deliberately to recreate the atmosphere of living in a Soviet state, where the walls had ears, and people spoke in code even at home to avoid eavesdropping.
There is definitely a claustrophobic atmosphere in the novel, I felt like I was constantly looking over my shoulder and no idea who I could trust or what would happen next. I was constantly afraid for the young woman with out really knowing why. I think Luik did a good job of recreating the atmosphere of Estonia during the Prague Spring, and Soviet occupation.
Although I did struggle with the narrative of this novel, I also found it very interesting as the only Estonians I have ever met came from the Russian minority in Estonia. They spoke only Russian, and while their passports and nationality were Estonian, they culturally identified as Russian, and said they felt more Russian than Estonian. It was therefore really interesting to see the historical relationship between Estonia and the Soviet Union, now Russia, explored in this book, as I have seen the lasting impact of the occupation on a minority population in Estonia who identify as Russian not Estonian.
There overall impact of this book is powerful, and there were parts I enjoyed. I would recommend this book if you're interested in Baltic or Soviet history, and are happy to abandon your expectations and just float through the book. However, I wouldn't recommend it if you're big on plot, and like to have a clear description of the action.
I found the narrative quite hard to follow actually, and I often didn't really understand what was going on while I was reading it. The blurb says 'language itself becomes fluid, by turns deceptive and reassuring.' I feel this is quite an accurate representation. Sometimes I knew what was going on, other timescale I felt completely lost. I think this is done deliberately to recreate the atmosphere of living in a Soviet state, where the walls had ears, and people spoke in code even at home to avoid eavesdropping.
There is definitely a claustrophobic atmosphere in the novel, I felt like I was constantly looking over my shoulder and no idea who I could trust or what would happen next. I was constantly afraid for the young woman with out really knowing why. I think Luik did a good job of recreating the atmosphere of Estonia during the Prague Spring, and Soviet occupation.
Although I did struggle with the narrative of this novel, I also found it very interesting as the only Estonians I have ever met came from the Russian minority in Estonia. They spoke only Russian, and while their passports and nationality were Estonian, they culturally identified as Russian, and said they felt more Russian than Estonian. It was therefore really interesting to see the historical relationship between Estonia and the Soviet Union, now Russia, explored in this book, as I have seen the lasting impact of the occupation on a minority population in Estonia who identify as Russian not Estonian.
There overall impact of this book is powerful, and there were parts I enjoyed. I would recommend this book if you're interested in Baltic or Soviet history, and are happy to abandon your expectations and just float through the book. However, I wouldn't recommend it if you're big on plot, and like to have a clear description of the action.
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