Biography of Sergei Dovlatov and his work

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Dovlatov Sergey Donatovich is a well-known name in Russia and abroad. Behind him is a famous writer and journalist who has made a significant contribution to world literature. Books written by him are read with pleasure by people in many countries of the world. The biography of Sergei Dovlatov is the history of the Russian people in the second half of the 20th century. The vicissitudes of the writer's fate, in many ways typical of that time, are reflected in his work. To know the main milestones of the author's life means to understand the novels and stories written by him.

Biography of Sergei Dovlatov

Dovlatov's personality is surrounded by many myths. Perhaps the most famous of them is associated with his many affairs with women. However, people who knew the writer closely argue that the two hundred mistresses in Leningrad, which were often talked about, are nothing more than fiction. At the same time, Dovlatov owes a lot to his wife Elena. It was she who played a key role in his emigration and helped develop his writing career in America.

Years in the USSR

The future writer was born in 1941 in Ufa in a creative family. His father was a director, his mother was a theater actress. After the end of the Great Patriotic War, together with his family, Dovlatov returned to Leningrad. He was enrolled in a local university at the Faculty of Philology, but due to poor progress, he could not finish his studies. After serving in the army, he returned to the northern capital and entered the faculty of journalism of the same university. Dovlatov was engaged in journalistic and literary activities in parallel, but his novels and stories were not published, because they contained the bitter truth about reality. In order to be able to publish and receive money for his work, Dovlatov decided to leave Russia. In 1978 he emigrated to New York.

Life in America

Moving to the USA allowed the writer to realize his creative ideas. His books were popular with readers. The Russian-language newspaper New American, which Dovlatov published, received many positive reviews. The writer spoke on the radio, published in major publications. During the years of his life in exile, Dovlatov Sergey Donatovich published twelve books. Not the last role in the literary success of the writer was played by his last wife, Elena. She spent a lot of time and energy on her husband's career. Despite his success in America, Dovlatov did not consider that he had succeeded as a writer. In his biography, he admitted that in America "he did not become a rich and prosperous person."

Dovlatov died in New York in 1990. The cause of death was cardiacfailure. He had four children from different women. The eldest daughter, Ekaterina, was born in 1966. Four years later, the second daughter, Maria, was born. In 1975, the third daughter of Alexander was born. In 1984, the son Nikolai was born.

Works by the author

The biography of Sergei Dovlatov is a must-read if the reader wants to understand his works, as there is a lot of autobiographical content in them. The author paid much attention not only to the text, but also to the illustrations for the books he wrote, covers and introductory articles. Philologists carefully study Dovlatov's correspondence with publishers, which discusses not only issues related to the release of the book, but also the texts themselves, their content and intention.

Writer Sergei Dovlatov is the author of such well-known works as "Reserve", "Zone", "Foreigner", "Suitcase".

"Reserve" is a story based on events from the writer's life. The main character, Boris Alekhanov, got a job at the Pushkin Museum in the village of Mikhailovskoye as a tour guide. The book was published in America in 1983, although a rough draft was created in the second half of the 70s.

"Zone", according to people who personally knew the writer, is one of his favorite works. Dovlatov worked on it for about twenty years. The story includes fourteen separate stories, united by a common theme: the peculiarities of the daily life of guards and prisoners. The history of the conceptof this book dates back to the time when Dovlatov served in the army and guarded the camp barracks. The book was published in the USA in 1982. The writer had to bypass several publishers to release it. He was told that the camp theme after Solzhenitsyn and Shalamov was irrelevant, but Dovlatov proved the fallacy of this statement.

The story "Foreigner" was written and published in 1986. The focus is on Russian emigrants and their life in New York. It is one of the author's most controversial works. Many of Dovlatov's contemporaries called it an outright failure. Best of all, in their opinion, the author managed to convey the images of Russian emigrants, while the text itself is more like a movie script than a literary work. "Foreigner" is not a book about America, but about a Russian person living in this country. Sergei Dovlatov said so.

"Suitcase" tells the story of a Russian emigrant who left his native country with one suitcase in his hands. A few years later, he began to take it apart and found things that brought up many unexpected memories. The book was written and published in 1986.

In Russia, Dovlatov is a recognized master of words. Some of his works, in particular "Zone" and "Suitcase", by the decision of the Russian Ministry of Education are included in the list of one hundred books that are recommended for young readers to read on their own. This event happened in 2013.

Reviews of Dovlatov's books

Sergey Dovlatov is very popular among Russian and foreign readers. The writer's books evoke a lot of positive emotions in them. Readersnote the author's ability to present a difficult story in a light, often ironic form. An important role in the disclosure of the topic is played by the features of the language, lively and expressive at the same time. Some readers compare reading Dovlatov's book to evening gatherings with their best friend over a cup of hot tea.

Summing up

The biography of Sergei Dovlatov is an example of the life of a man who left his homeland in search of a better fate. Although the writer spent the second half of his life in America, where he died and was buried, he never forgot about Russia. All books were written by him in his native language, and the fate of the Russian people occupies a central place in them. Russia, the people who inhabit it, their fate at home and in exile - that's what Dovlatov wrote about. This author's books are popular with readers of all ages. They are attracted by the talent of the writer and his ability to convey their thoughts in an easy and understandable way for everyone.