Abstract: The subject of the study is the analysis of the synthetic genre of the river-novel in its specificity – in a polemic with a modern expanded understanding of the genre, erasing its originality. The aim of the work is also the cultural and philosophical actualization of the novel – in a polemic with its traditional social reading. The signs of the river-novel are highlighted and the synthetics of the genre is emphasized. It is noted that the novel is based on the unity of the world of the author and the hero and their dialogue. The main theme of the novel is analyzed – the disclosure of the creative perception of the world in its independence, openness to the world and constant changes, the connection of the main theme with two leitmotifs of the novel is shown – the ability to hear world music and the God-humanity of genius. Christoph's worldview is defined as pantheism: the mystery of unity is revealed to Christoph, linking him with the era of early German Romanticism. The main method of research is the structural analysis of the text, the main themes, motifs, and mythologies. It is emphasized that the epic of Rolland is the final work for the New European culture, the creators of which were the titans, the creators of great art. It is noted that the river-novel is based on the romantic tradition and expresses the spirit of a new idealism characteristic of the era of the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. The polemic of the novel, addressed to the life of the modern soul, is polemic to the theme of the decline of the West and the growing signs of the great war of peoples – on the eve of the First World War. It is noted that one of the facets of the river-novel with its belief in the power of creativity is the utopia of the international brotherhood of creative souls (close to the ideas of G. Hesse). It is emphasized that the pathos of the unity of the most important mental traditions of Europe permeates the entire novel – such is the music of Christophe, combining "German fantasy and the clear clarity of the Latin mind." The disclosure of the cultural and philosophical meanings of the novel and the specifics of the genre of the river novel constitute the novelty of scientific research. The conclusion is made about the synthetics of the river-novel genre: a myth novel, a utopia novel, a warning novel, an alternative history novel. The research opens up the possibility for further, more detailed comparison of the religion of creativity underlying the novel with the philosophical ideas of the twentieth century: A. Bergson's "Creative Impulse", N. A. Berdyaev's "Philosophy of Creativity", L. N. Gumilev's theory of passionarity, as well as the analysis of the novel in the Russian artistic context.