The Little Drama

Valerian Pidmohylnyi is a master for whom the individual always stands above circumstances. In The Little Drama, he brings together two opposing worlds: Marta, a sensitive woman guided by emotion, and Yuri, a dry rationalist and scientist who sees love as nothing more than an inconvenient obstacle to productive work.
Against the backdrop of everyday life in 1920s Kyiv, the novel unfolds as more than a romantic story — it is a profound philosophical debate. The author explores how new social ideals displace morality and how pragmatism destroys the capacity to feel. Yuri must choose between Marta’s sincerity and a convenient, calculated relationship with the pragmatic Iren. This is a brilliant intellectual novel about whether reason can overcome human nature.