Showing results by publisher "Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing" in Literary Fiction

In "Notes from Underground" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, we are not talking about revolutionary personalities, a secret struggle for some ideas or about a curtain of secrets and mysteries. The hero of the "underground", the author of the notes, is a collegiate assessor who retired after receiving a small inheritance. He lives poorly, in a wretched room on the outskirts of Petersburg. And the "underground" is psychological.

Bulgakov was a Soviet playwright, novelist, and short story writer best known for his humor and penetrating satire. Because of their realism and humor, Bulgakov's works enjoyed great popularity, but their trenchant criticism of Soviet mores was increasingly unacceptable to the authorities. Bulgakov's short stories are a world unto themselves—sharp, witty, and often unsettling. In these pages, the absurdity of Soviet life collides with the supernatural, the grotesque meets the comic, and reality is always just a step away from slipping into nightmare.

In Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, we are not talking about revolutionary personalities, a secret struggle for some ideas Fyodor Dostoyevsky tells the story of a man who is "too conscious." The man, whose name we never learn is so aware of his own thoughts and feelings as to cause him to be indecisive and overly self-critical. Add in his belief that societal expectations are shaping his actions. Notes From Underground is one of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's most well renowned novels. It is thought to be one of the first existentialist Russian works.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich - first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, considered one of the masterpieces of his late fiction, written shortly after his religious conversion of the late 1870s. Usually classed among the best examples of the novella, The Death of Ivan Ilyich tells the story of a high-court judge in 19th-century Russia and his sufferings and death from a terminal illness.

What if there was another wise man, one whose journey never led him to Bethlehem? A man who saw the star but never reached the manger, whose hands were filled with treasures meant for a king but emptied by the weight of compassion. This is not just a Christmas tale. It is a story for those who have ever felt delayed, detoured, or lost. A story that asks: What if the greatest offering was not gold, but the giving of oneself?

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels is a timeless exploration of the human spirit seen through the eyes of an adventurous traveler. In this work, Swift offers a playful yet clear reflection on society without detailing every fact. Instead, he invites readers to uncover hidden lessons through a series of curious encounters and unexpected adventures. The narrative gently nudges us to question the ways we live and the institutions that shape our lives, all while delighting us with visions of strange lands and unusual peoples.

She lived in the shadow of others—quietly, dutifully, without question. Her world was small: a kitchen hearth, the rhythm of chores, a parrot who would outlive most dreams. But in that stillness, something vast took root. A devotion so complete, it blurred the line between the sacred and the simple. This story doesn't shout. It listens. It watches. It waits. And by the time it's done, you'll understand how the softest hearts carry the heaviest truths.

A snowbound coach. Ten strangers. One woman who doesn't fit in—and never tries to. In Boule de Suif, Guy de Maupassant doesn't just tell a story—he dissects society with a scalpel dipped in irony. The setting is wartime France, the passengers are a cross-section of "respectable" society, and the tension isn't just political, it's personal. Class, hypocrisy, and the polite savagery of moral convenience bubble just beneath the surface. She's not like them. And that's the problem. Or maybe the solution. She feeds them when they're hungry.

Thomas Hardy offers a quiet meditation on fate, character, and the subtle turns of the human heart. This story reflects Hardy's enduring concern with moral struggle and the slow, often silent shifts within the self.

In the heart of Paris, where art and ambition intertwine, the boundaries between genius and madness blur. A tale of creation, obsession, and the quest for perfection, this story dances on the edge of brilliance. The artist, driven by an insatiable desire to capture the unattainable, confronts the fragility of his own vision. As the canvas comes to life, so too does a world where nothing is as it seems, and the cost of true artistry might just be too high. Balzac's story whispers of the fine line between genius and obsession, where the artist's soul is as fragile as the masterpiece he seeks.

Odyssey is a classic poem written by Homer that consists of 12.110 verses. It is unique already in that it has reached our days in its original form. This poem is a genuine revelation of the poetic thought of ancient Hellas. ... After the Trojan War, most of the survived Greek leaders returned by sea to Troy. However, after numerous troubles, only the chosen ones could have stayed alive. One of them - the cunning king Odysseus – was wandering in the sea for almost ten years.

The Dead is the final short story in the 1914 collection Dubliners by James Joyce. The other stories in the collection are shorter, whereas at 15,952 words, The Dead is almost long enough to be described as a novella. The story deals with themes of love and loss as well as raising questions about the nature of the Irish identity. The story centres on Gabriel Conroy, a professor and part-time book reviewer, and explores the relationships he has with his family and friends. Gabriel and his wife, Gretta, arrive late to an annual Christmas party hosted by his aunts, Kate and Julia Morkan, who eagerly receive him.

What happens when a man simply steps away for a quiet walk in the mountains—only to return and find the world utterly changed? Set against the misty ridges of the Catskills, this gently magical tale offers more than a rustic legend—it's a sly meditation on escape, transformation, and the odd persistence of character.

A glittering evening. The rustle of silk. The gleam of chandeliers and whispered admiration following her every graceful turn. In that moment, she is everything she was born to be—adored, envied, radiant. But the night ends. And reality waits in the shadows. In a world where appearances speak louder than truths, how much is one willing to sacrifice to fit into a vision of elegance? And when the cost of illusion becomes a lifelong sentence, what remains of the dream?

"Looking Backward: 2000–1887" is a utopian novel by Edward Bellamy, a journalist and writer from Massachusetts. It was the third largest bestseller of its time, after Uncle Tom's Cabin and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It influenced many intellectuals, and appears by title in many socialist writings of the day. "It is one of the few books ever published that created almost immediately on its appearance a political mass movement". The novel also inspired several utopian communities.

The Great Gatsby, a work that seriously examines the theme of aspiration in an American setting, defines the classic American novel. The novel was inspired by a youthful romance Fitzgerald had with a socialite, and by parties he attended on Long Island's North Shore in 1922. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan.

Что случится, если барышня переоденется крестьянкой, а молодой барин — влюбится в простушку с глазами героини романа? Это рассказ о любви, рождении симпатии сквозь игру и притворство, где деревенская роща становится театром настоящих чувств, а старая вражда между соседями — поводом для весёлой, почти опереточной интриги.

Одинокий гробовщик, привыкший к тишине и печали, однажды оказывается в самом неожиданном обществе. Но кто его гости — соседи или… клиенты? Гробовщик — изящная готическая миниатюра, где за лёгкой усмешкой слышится звон колокольчика, а между строк сквозит нешуточная сатира.

A man sits at his hearth as thunder shakes the mountains. Then—a knock. A stranger steps in, soaked and shivering, armed not with warmth or need, but with polished copper and an urgent offer. He doesn't sell comfort. He sells protection—against the very sky. The Lightning-Rod Man is Herman Melville at his most compact and cunning. This sharply drawn tale uses one room, one storm, and two voices to stage a quiet war between reason and fear, independence and submission, belief and the glittering promise of safety. It's a sales pitch wrapped in a sermon, disguised as a fable.

Майстер корабля — письменницький дебют Юрія Яновського. Це модерністський роман, стилізований під мемуари, який передає атмосферу 20-х років двадцятого століття. Він має ознаки пригодницького, автобіографічного і водночас утопічного та мариністичного фантастичного романів. Текст побудовано як спогад оповідача й головного персонажа, але в його структуру також вплетено менші тексти, відмінні за жанром та стилістикою — це листи, фантазії, мрії, перекази, ідеї сценаріїв тощо. Таким чином читач стає свідком захопливого кількарівневого дистанціювання від реальності.