AT THE INTERSECTION OF PLOT PATHS: KREMENETS AND RIVNE IN THE ULAS SAMCHUK’S NOVEL "KULAK"

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of urban spaces, which are currently of growing interest in contemporary Ukrainian human sciences, in particular. The conditions of current challenges related to war and the experience of existential threat increase attention to study of one’s own cities, places and personal identity in them. In this context, creativity of Ulas Samchuk offers extensive material for the study of genius loci in a literary work. Volyn places, which hold a prominent place in the life and literary creativity of the author, deserve special attention. The purpose of the article is to analyze the representations of the images of the cities of Kremenets and Rivne using the material of Ulas Samchuk’s first novel «Kulak». The scientific investigation used the methodology of geopoetics; created by Kenneth White and developed in the works of European and Ukrainian researchers, it allows us to reveal deeper connections between space and the plot of the literary work. The article compares text fragments of «Kulak» with the author’s documentary prose «On a White Horse. On the Black Horse» and the novel «The Youth of Vasyl Sheremeta», the key importance of Kremenets as the main urban space in the novel is determined. The features of the image of Kremenets as a provincial, yet multicultural and dynamic city, the features of which the author conveys with his inherent realism, are analyzed. Instead, Rivne appears as a city at the crossroads, the representation of which is largely connected with the development of events and the pace of the novel’s plot. The city is not characterized by detailed topographical descriptions, but its episodic presence is associated with key turning points in the life of the main character – Lev Boychuk.