The Girl with the Teddy Bear

The “Non-Canonical Canon” series is a way to talk about all those writers we never truly knew — whose texts we read without understanding the reality and context in which they were created. The series brings together a wide range of Ukrainian authors and works, each accompanied by reading guides from Ukrainian literary scholars.

The Girl with the Teddy Bear is one of V. Domontovych’s most famous and eccentric works.

The novel takes place in Kyiv in the 1920s. Ipolit Varetskyi, a chemical engineer and lecturer, becomes acquainted with the Tykhmeniev family and starts tutoring their daughters — the serious Lesia and the rebellious Zyna. It is Zyna who captivates him with her independence and avant-garde spirit. She longs for freedom and openly challenges social norms. But can a romance exist between two people so fundamentally different?

This deeply Kyiv-centered novel introduces readers to the everyday life of the city’s residents and immerses them in the atmosphere of Kyiv a hundred years ago.