The events of Yuri Vinnichuk’s novel “The Pharmacist” take place in 1646–1648, first in the Venetian Republic, and then in Lviv. The rich, varied historical background is skillfully used for a fascinating game of “real-unreal”, in which historical characters coexist with fictional ones, and their complex relationships form over time into love triangles. And at the same time, fantasy descriptions look like they are quite real, the author’s fiction fades into the background, forcing the reader to believe in a world woven from a dream. Yu. Vinnichuk's prose is always an intriguing story, born thanks to the wild imagination of a master of numerous exquisite stylizations.