Mikhail Kotsyubinsky's prose is bright colors and sharp dramatic conflicts, and his life is gray everyday life, boring work and service to society. Wherever the events of his works take place — in Chernihiv, in the Carpathians or in Capri, Italy, the writer's focus is always on the individual. He is interested in an island person who experiences emotional drama, dissociates himself from others, strives for harmony, and at the same time seeks a kindred spirit. This is a separate Mysterious Universe, the secrets of which the writer offers to touch and, possibly, solve something. About the novel "on the island" Kotsyubinsky wrote in a letter that it should contain "a little sun, sea, people and me." Therefore, in this book there is the sun, the sea, people and the author himself. The book "on the island" is a collection of modernist prose by Mikhail Mikhailovich Kotsyubinsky. The famous author of Ukrainian classical literature had a gift: he saw the innermost corners of the human soul. The writer could immerse himself in the consciousness of the individual, revealing his true motives, fears and emotions. This is what helped him create unique, rather contradictory characters — a kind of "islands", the shores of which bypass the currents of muted feelings. Having recoiled from the outside world, they listen to the trembling of their own nature in order to comprehend the fullness of inner peace. The collection "on the island" by Mikhail Kotsyubinsky contains twelve works — eternal stories about the meaning of people's lives, these countless lonely archipelagos. The texts of the classic touch on Timeless events and situations, so they do not lose their relevance, despite the change of epochs. Emotional richness and deep metaphorical nature in Mikhail Kotsyubinsky's stories in the stories "Persona grata" and "gift for the name day" Kotsyubinsky artistically understands the nature of violence and reveals in detail the process of transformation of the ethical boundaries of the individual. What used to be taboo for Heroes later becomes the norm, destroying their last islands of humanity. The writer masterfully reconstructs the events that forced the characters to change their moral guidelines and approach spiritual destruction. In the story "The Letter" there is an ideological counter-position to these works. The characters see violence as the last stage of human degradation, and murder appears as a terrible breakdown of the foundations of being. The story "duel" by Mikhail Kotsyubinsky reflects the tragicomic concept of a "love triangle". In this text, the author focuses on criticizing the apparent dignity and hypocritical virtues generated by Honor and archaic thinking. The classic unfolds the drama of losing self-esteem, subtly conveying the complex inner struggles of the characters. High philosophical postulates in the short stories of the sun worshipper in his work, the writer relied on the stories of real people, which is why his characters and heroines are characterized by such a deep psychological persuasiveness. When you draw a branch, you need to hear the wind breathing — it seems that Kotsyubinsky used this idea in the process of working on his works. Kotsyubinsky permeated the novels "on the island", "The Color of the apple tree" and "praise for life" with reflections on the search for eternal harmony. The characters of the stories are at a crossroads of spiritual, moral and physical self-knowledge, leaving in the darkness of doubts and worries. In each of their steps, there is a heaviness and an irresistible desire to understand themselves, and each of their actions turns the line of a new personality. In the partly autobiographical novel "Dream" Kotsyubinsky exposes the anxiety of human consciousness before the endless cycle of being. In general, the concept of the eternal circle is repeated in most of the author's texts. In the work "on the island" Kotsyubinsky depicts a strong connection between man and nature, and in the study "The Color of the apple tree" he speaks about the inevitability of death and almost for the first time in Ukrainian literature raises the problem of a split personality into an artist and a person, a father. Flow of immortal images in the series" Vivat Classics "in lyrical miniatures" from the depths " Kotsyubinsky reflects on the feelings of a person as a multidimensional projection of his personality. In the novel "Intermezzo" Kotsyubinsky seeks a spiritual panacea for disappointment and despondency. In the story "Persona grata", the writer clearly outlines the path of a person's collapse, where each of his choices brings him closer to an inner fall. In the story "shadows of forgotten ancestors", Mikhail Kotsyubinsky resorts to impressionistic writing techniques and uses local flavor to fully reveal the pain of the characters. In the Etude "doll" Kotsyubinsky touches on the theme of idealization of love and sneers at the play of emotions, which traces the bitter wisdom about human vulnerability. We recommend buying " on the island "for connoisseurs of Ukrainian classical literature, which not only offers a bright, refined language of works, but also opens up space for deep reflections on the essence of the"existentialist view of the world".