There’s a special pleasure—and even a certain magic—in reading a book right where its events take place. When you recognize a street from the page you just turned, or suddenly realize you’re standing in the very same courtyard where a literary character once walked—it creates a truly unique experience.
This summer, we invite you to “re-read” the Ukrainian capital in the literal sense: pick up a book and head to the places where its story unfolds. UA.News has compiled a selection of books and itineraries where Ukrainian literature and the vibrant city of Kyiv intersect. Read more in our article.
“The City”
Author: Valerian Pidmohylny
Genre: urban novel, psychological prose
What happens to a person who decides to conquer a metropolis? Valerian Pidmohylny immerses us in the psyche of Stepan Radchenko—an ambitious country boy who arrives in Kyiv in the 1920s. At first, the city seems alien, dirty, and hostile to him, but gradually it draws him into its vortex. Stepan undergoes a complex inner evolution: from sleeping in a barn in Podil next to a cow to living in an elite apartment on a hill and achieving the status of a famous writer. This is a book about compromising one’s conscience, shifting values, the emergence of a new Ukrainian urban culture, and the price one must pay for success and recognition. It’s a novel that makes you wonder whether we truly control our lives in the city, or whether the city is quietly molding us into someone else.
To immerse yourself in the novel’s atmosphere, start at St. Sophia Square and Volodymyrska Street. It was here, gazing at the old bell tower of St. Sophia, that Stepan Radchenko first felt that the city was no longer frightening him. As Pidmohylny wrote:
“...everything around him was a delight to his eyes—the old bell tower of St. Sophia, the trams, and the winding street lined with chestnut trees,” a quote from the novel *The City*.
Grab a coffee to go, sit on a bench overlooking the cathedral, and reread the protagonist’s first impressions of the city. Next, you can retrace Stepan’s path and walk toward the former Nesterivska Street (now Ivan Franko Street), where he was headed to the address office, and from there climb up Volodymyrska Hill.
By the way, if you head down to Podil after taking in the panoramic views, reading Pidmohylny’s work can turn into a fascinating street art quest. Kyiv artist Maksym Pavliuk staged an original street performance to mark the release of a revised series of Ukrainian classics by the Osnovy publishing house. Seventeen colorful, figurative posters illustrating Stepan’s adventures have appeared on fences and building walls throughout Kyiv. Most of these art installations are “hidden” right on the streets of Podil—both in crowded areas and in quiet corners where scenes from the book unfolded. One of them is on display next to the Poshtova Ploshcha metro exit. Try to find them all!
“Clouds”
Author: Ivan Nechui-Levytskyi
Genre: social and domestic novel, classical prose
What was Kyiv like before skyscrapers appeared, when vast gardens bloomed in Podil and nightingales sang? Nechui-Levytsky created a remarkable panorama of life among Kyiv’s intelligentsia in the second half of the 19th century. Through the lives of two generations—the conservative professor Dashkovych and the passionate, progressive Radyuk—the author shows how the clouds of imperial Russification gradually gathered over the Ukrainian language and culture. The author reflects deeply on how difficult it is to remain true to one’s ideals when society demands silence and conformity.
We suggest starting the next route in the cozy inner courtyard of the modern Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Podil. In Nechuy-Levytsky’s time, the Theological Academy—where the novel’s heroes studied and taught—was a bustling hub of activity. After enjoying the tranquility of Podil, head up to the observation deck near St. Andrew’s Church. Take a seat on the benches next to the church, from where the book’s characters spent hours admiring the blue waters of the Dnipro and the church’s golden domes. Throughout the novel, there are frequent descriptions of Kyiv’s panoramas and churches, including the Lavra.
“Amadoka”
Author: Sofia Andrukhovych
Genre: historical novel, psychological drama, metamodernism
What remains of a person if their memory is completely erased? A modern ATO soldier returns from the war with total amnesia. In the hospital, he is found by a woman who tries to restore his memories by telling him the story of his family. Thus begins a journey through the labyrinths of the past century. Amadoka is a legendary lake that does not appear on modern maps, and at the same time, it is a metaphor for our collective memory. The author unravels the terrifying and beautiful layers of Ukrainian history: from the Holocaust in small towns to the destruction of Ukrainian neoclassical intellectuals during Stalin’s terror and the bizarre fate of writer Viktor Domontovich.
We suggest beginning this profound journey through memory in Pechersk, near the Main Military Clinical Hospital. It is here, on Cherepanova Hill, that a wounded ATO soldier who has lost his memory is brought, and it is within these hospital walls that the novel’s contemporary layer begins to unfold, transforming into an attempt to piece together the fragments of our history.
As the next spot to open the book, we suggest the cozy park near the Golden Gate. Although the novel takes the reader through archives and various corners of Ukraine, it is this historic space in the center of Kyiv that perfectly resonates with the book’s atmosphere. Here, in the shade of centuries-old trees, where the paths of Ukrainian intellectuals, neoclassicists, and artists have crossed for centuries, is the best place to pause and reflect on Sofia Andrukhovych’s complex novel.
“Picnic on the Ice”
Author: Andriy Kurkov
Genre: detective, postmodern noir
Kyiv in the late 1990s—a time of criminal showdowns, the rise of the oligarchy, and utter absurdity. Unemployed journalist Viktor unexpectedly lands his dream job: a major newspaper hires him to write obituaries for influential people who are still alive. However, before long, the subjects of his “obituaries” (as these pieces are called) begin to die one by one under strange circumstances. The only being close to Viktor is a depressed penguin named Misha, whom the journalist took home from the Kyiv Zoo, where there was simply nothing to feed the animals. The author has written an ironic, unsettling, and deeply atmospheric novel about the utter loneliness of a person in a big city and the absurdity of the era of unbridled capitalism.
Our next stop will take us back to the turbulent and somewhat absurd 1990s, and it’s worth continuing our journey directly from the Kyiv Zoo. This location is the book’s main plot marker, as it is from here that journalist Viktor takes his unusual friend—the depressed penguin Misha—home. Find a bench near the bird ponds to read about the adventures of this strange pair with a smile.
We suggest continuing the route in the quiet city center—around Lvivska Square and Stritenska Street. According to the novel, Viktor himself lived with the penguin in a cozy apartment in this old Kyiv neighborhood. A stroll through these streets perfectly captures the atmosphere of Kyiv in the fall or winter, which Kurkov describes in such detail.
Another place where key events in the book unfold is the Baikove Cemetery. Of course, we strongly advise against organizing cozy coffee-and-book gatherings at the cemetery—local residents and common sense would certainly not approve—but it’s worth mentioning this location to fully capture the atmosphere of 1990s Kyiv’s criminal underworld.
“The First”
Author: Maria Oleksa
Genre: coming-of-age novel, romantic fiction
A light, poignant, and deeply nostalgic story about once-in-a-lifetime experiences that will never be repeated. Teenagers Ravlyk and Vla meet at a summer camp in the early 2000s. Ahead of them lies an endless summer that seems like it will last forever. First awkward kisses, first major disappointments, handwritten letters, and breath-taking plans for the future. However, this teenage paradise quickly comes to an end, and the characters are forced to grow up, make difficult decisions, make mistakes, and lose their way on the streets of the big city. Maria Oleksa has created a wonderfully emotional novel for anyone who longs for their youth, orange sweaters, and a time when everything seemed possible. This is a book about the search for harmony, the inner conflicts of growing up, and the ability to let go of people who once were your entire universe.
For the final stop on our itinerary, we suggest leaving the bustling city center behind and taking a trip to the cozy, green courtyards of Sviatoshyn or Syrets. The author transports the romance of first teenage love and coming of age to Kyiv’s residential neighborhoods. Find any old park in these neighborhoods to get a taste of the carefree Kyiv summers of the early 2000s. You can end your journey at the western edge of the city, near the entrance to Kyiv on the Zhytomyr Highway, where huge concrete letters spelling out the capital’s name tower overhead. For the novel’s protagonists, this is a special spot—a symbolic place where the teenage illusions of summer camp are left behind and the complexities of adult life begin.
