City | Valerian Podmohylyny

In the simplest way of understanding the novel "The City" by Valerian Pidmogilny is a story about a young man who decides to leave the village and move to Kyiv, where he begins to build a new life. He is often compared with Maupassant's hero "Dear Friend" and self-confident characters from Balzac's works, who are actively developing in society. However, for Pidmohylyny, this is not just a career story, it also reflects the life of Ukrainian society at that time through the prism of the main character.

Marginal and outsider Stepan Radchenko, throughout the novel, consciously forms his personality, receives an education and gradually becomes part of the intellectual and creative environment of Kyiv. For him, the environment is becoming increasingly complex and requires adaptation.

In addition, the novel "City", written in 1927, celebrated an important achievement of the Ukrainian revolution: the return of urban space under the influence of Ukrainian culture. This period affected the restoration of the artistic life of Kyiv after the period of restrictions and increased its cultural potential.