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Katia N's Reviews > Місто
Місто
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What can I say? It is a delightful novel. Not quite modernist yet, more on the way towards existentialism, deeply psychological, honest, funny, and well written. It is also a hymn to the individualism and so unlike the contemporary Soviet literature that was toggling between the social realism and absurdism. It is such a tragedy that the life of this author was cut short so cruelly by the gulags.
It is one of those novels where a city takes the role of an independent character. When I was reading it I was thinking it was not quite Ulysses, more like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. And I felt so sad that this author would never write his “Ulysses�. Though he had it in him. It is almost palpable from this text.
It is about Kyiv in the 20s. And the whole place feels on the pages of this book more like Weimar Republic rather than some place in the Soviet Union. The novel also has reminded me of The Gift by Nabokov written approximately at the same time in Berlin. Both main characters are ambitious young writers. Both quite unpleasant to put it mildly, but very talented. But while Nabokov’s character possess all the social capital possible, Stepan, the protagonist of Pidmohilny is a village orphan who comes to the big city for the first time. So the story even more intriguing from this perspective - he quickly obtains all necessary glamour anyway. When Nabokov goes into intertextuality, Pidmohylny is dwelling more on psychology of his character. Nabokov digs into the past, Pidmohylny looks into the future. However, both of those young men share their ambition and egocentrism as well as their lasting loyalty to literature only.
The language is lyrical and rich. There is a music on the sentence level.
This novel has been rediscovered in Ukraine after the end of the Soviet empire, I hope the book would be re-translated and republished soon. It deserves its place in the European literary canon.
Ps
thanks to my dear friend Vesna for the link to English translation. It looks like it is available for free download. I really recommend to try if you are interested in Ukrainian classics:
Part 1:
Part 2:
It is one of those novels where a city takes the role of an independent character. When I was reading it I was thinking it was not quite Ulysses, more like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. And I felt so sad that this author would never write his “Ulysses�. Though he had it in him. It is almost palpable from this text.
It is about Kyiv in the 20s. And the whole place feels on the pages of this book more like Weimar Republic rather than some place in the Soviet Union. The novel also has reminded me of The Gift by Nabokov written approximately at the same time in Berlin. Both main characters are ambitious young writers. Both quite unpleasant to put it mildly, but very talented. But while Nabokov’s character possess all the social capital possible, Stepan, the protagonist of Pidmohilny is a village orphan who comes to the big city for the first time. So the story even more intriguing from this perspective - he quickly obtains all necessary glamour anyway. When Nabokov goes into intertextuality, Pidmohylny is dwelling more on psychology of his character. Nabokov digs into the past, Pidmohylny looks into the future. However, both of those young men share their ambition and egocentrism as well as their lasting loyalty to literature only.
The language is lyrical and rich. There is a music on the sentence level.
This novel has been rediscovered in Ukraine after the end of the Soviet empire, I hope the book would be re-translated and republished soon. It deserves its place in the European literary canon.
Ps
thanks to my dear friend Vesna for the link to English translation. It looks like it is available for free download. I really recommend to try if you are interested in Ukrainian classics:
Part 1:
Part 2:
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Reading Progress
June 7, 2022
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Started Reading
June 7, 2022
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June 21, 2022
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Vesna
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Jun 21, 2022 08:45AM
'Lyrical' and 'modernist' from the 1920s draw me like a magnet, dear Katia. Thank you for this review and introduction to Pidmohylny. So many great writers are unjustly overlooked... Right after reading your wonderful thoughts about this writer, I searched for any translation in English and found it for this novel at the University of Toronto website (can't post the link in the comments, argh!). I don't know how good the translation is but still want to to read it. Your review makes it irresistible!
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Thank you, dear Vesna. I think you would enjoy it. I knew of that translation. I’ve heard it is an academic one. But still it is the translation and should be not too bad. There is a big Ukrainian diaspora in Canada. I hope they conveyed his language well. His imagery is quite poignant and the vocabulary in Ukrainian is superb- I’ve learned so many beautiful words. Let’s see whether you like it.
I also discovered that there is an English translation of his A Little Touch Of Drama, posted at the same website, "Electronic Library of Ukrainian Literature". If you google it, dear Katia, you can find it at utoronto.ca. I am also curious about The Forest Song (ignore the bad cover page :-)), a play by Lesia Ukrainka from the early 20th cent., whose brief literary bio on goodreads piqued my interest.
Thank you, dear Vesna. “Forest song� is a classic. We studied it at school. But is is a poem. So not sure how well it is translated. Lesya Ukrainka is very good and well ahead of her time. Again died very young but from TB. Her essays are very good as well, but especially her plays. . I think she is the “proper� modernist. Can you find “Cassandra�? It is her play. I have not read it myself yet. But I’ve heard it is a masterpiece.
Katia wrote: "Thank you, dear Vesna. “Forest song� is a classic. We studied it at school. But is is a poem. So not sure how well it is translated. Lesya Ukrainka is very good and well ahead of her time. Again di..."Yes, they have her Кассандра too! It's also a dramatic poem. I agree that poetry can be lost in translation, or at least some of it, but still better than not to read at all... :-) Different translators for each play, I'll probably start reading each to get a feel of translation and then read the one that flows better.
P.S. Oops, I made a mistake. They don't have 'The Forest Song' but 'The Stone Host'. They do have 'Cassandra' so I'll read it then (unless I find 'The Forest Song' as well).
Vesna wrote: "Katia wrote: "Thank you, dear Vesna. “Forest song� is a classic. We studied it at school. But is is a poem. So not sure how well it is translated. Lesya Ukrainka is very good and well ahead of her ..."Oh, that Is great, dear Vesna. I know that you were dipping into plays before and you like poetry. I really hope you like her. I plan to re-read her myself. There is a famous Ukrainian intellectual, Oxana Zabuzhko. You’ve privy heard of her. Quite a few of her books are translated. But she has written a whole book devoted to Lesya. I’ve read a few pages and I think it is a great biography Notre Dame d’Ukraine: Українка в конфлікті міфологій. I am not sure whether it is translated but worth a check.
And thank you for “Misto�. I’ve now found it and the translation seems ok at first glance. I will post a link in my review and maybe look for some quotes I liked in my original later. I would recommend this book I think.
Katia wrote: "There is a famous Ukrainian intellectual, Oxana Zabuzhko. You’ve privy heard of her. Quite a few of her books are translated. But she has written a whole book devoted to Lesya. I’ve read a few pages and I think it is a great biography Notre Dame d’Ukraine: Українка в конфлікті міфологій. I am not sure whether it is translated but worth a check...."Of course, I've heard of her, dear Katia. I actually have her Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex and it's lined up for me to read. I was impatient and quickly glanced through it, her first opening sentence is on more than 2 pages with most of it in parenthesis (!) and it's not only readable, but very engaging. Now, I call that a daring writer in the best possible sense!
Oh, what a discovery, Katia. Thank you.
I've got a bunch of books on the go at the moment, and should not be adding another—but I've already clicked on the link and have now disembarked from the steamboat with Stephan and Nadia and Levko...
Vesna wrote: "Katia wrote: "There is a famous Ukrainian intellectual, Oxana Zabuzhko. You’ve privy heard of her. Quite a few of her books are translated. But she has written a whole book devoted to Lesya. I’ve r..."That is a proof that not only Bernhard could write long sentences in Eastern Europe, dear Vesna:-)) I have not read this one, it is the one of the her earlier novels and I've heard different views about it. But I've read some of her essays which are great. And her The Museum of Abandoned Secrets is considered to be seminal for the Ukrainian novels of 2010s. This one I've read. It is complex but really strong book. I look forward to your thoughts about "Fieldwork..."
Look forward
Kalliope wrote: "Oh, what a discovery, Katia. Thank you."My pleasure, Kal. I've attached the link to the second part as well. I hope you enjoy the novel.
Fionnuala wrote: "I've got a bunch of books on the go at the moment, and should not be adding another—but I've already clicked on the link and have now disembarked from the steamboat with Stephan and Nadia and Levko..."You made me smile, Fionnuala:-) I think you would enjoy this novel in spite of it being a new destaction from your list. I know the feeling:-) I've checked the translation and it seemed to be good. At least it flows. So I hope you would flow on the journey with Stepan. I would really look forward to know what you would think about him as a companion:-) But even more interested what you would think about his creator. I think you might recognise some echos of French classics. Anatol France as an epigraph might be an indication. And Pidmohylny has translated some others. But what I liked about this novel is sort of freshness and effortless writing.
