Son of the writer Tatyana Tolstoy. Biography of Tatyana Tolstoy. The key to success is excellent teachers

Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya(born May 3, 1951, Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR) - Russian writer, publicist, literary critic and TV presenter. Winner of the Triumph literary award (2001) and the TEFI television award (2003).

The works of Tatyana Tolstoy, including the collections of stories “If you love - you don’t love”, “Okkervil River”, “Day”, “Night”, “Raisin”, “Circle”, “White Walls”, have been translated into many languages of the world. In 2011, she was included in the ranking of the “One Hundred Most influential women Russia", compiled by the radio station "Echo of Moscow", news agencies RIA Novosti, Interfax and Ogonyok magazine.

Tatyana Tolstaya was born on May 3, 1951 in Leningrad, in the family of physics professor Nikita Alekseevich Tolstoy. She grew up in the Lensoviet house on the Karpovka River Embankment in large family, where she had six brothers and sisters. The maternal grandfather of the future writer is Mikhail Leonidovich Lozinsky, literary translator, poet. On her paternal side, she is the granddaughter of the writer Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy and the poetess Natalia Krandievskaya.

After graduating from school, Tatyana Tolstaya entered Leningrad University in the department of classical philology (with the study of Latin and Greek languages), from which she graduated in 1974.

In the same year, she married classical philologist A.V. Lebedev and, following her husband, moved to Moscow, where she began working at the Main Editorial Office oriental literature Publishing house "Science". Having worked at the publishing house until 1983, Tatyana Tolstaya published her first literary works and debuts as a literary critic with the article “Glue and Scissors...” (“Voprosy Literatury”, 1983, No. 9). By her own admission, what made her start writing was the fact that she had undergone eye surgery. “Now, after laser correction, the bandage is removed after a couple of days, but then I had to lie with the bandage for a whole month. And since it was impossible to read, the plots of the first stories began to appear in my head,” said Tolstaya.

1983-1989: Literary success

In 1983, she wrote her first story entitled “They Sat on the Golden Porch...”, published in Aurora magazine in the same year. The story was warmly received by both readers and critics. At the same time recognized as one of the best literary debuts 1980s. The artistic work was “a kaleidoscope of childhood impressions from simple events and ordinary people, which appear to children as various mysterious and fairy-tale characters" Subsequently, Tolstaya published about twenty more stories in periodicals. Her works are published in Novy Mir and other major magazines. “Date with a Bird” (1983), “Sonya” (1984), “ Blank sheet"(1984), "If you love - you don't love" (1984), "Okkervil River" (1985), "Mammoth Hunt" (1985), "Peters" (1986), "Sleep well, son" (1986), " Fire and Dust" (1986), "The Most Beloved" (1986), "The Poet and the Muse" (1986), "Seraphim" (1986), "The Moon Came Out of the Fog" (1987), "Night" (1987), " Heavenly Flame" (1987), "Somnambulist in the Fog" (1988). In 1987, the first collection of stories by the writer was published, entitled similarly to her first story - “They were sitting on the golden porch...”. The collection includes both previously known and unpublished works: “Dear Shura” (1985), “Fakir” (1986), “Circle” (1987). After the publication of the collection, Tatyana Tolstaya was accepted as a member of the USSR Writers' Union.

Not all Soviet critics unequivocally praised Tolstoy’s first literary works. In particular, she was reproached for the “density” of the letter, for the fact that “you can’t read a lot in one sitting.” Other critics greeted the writer’s prose with delight, but noted that her works were written according to one, well-structured template. In intellectual circles, Tolstaya gains a reputation as an original, independent author. At that time, the main characters of the writer’s works were “urban madmen” (old-regime old women, “brilliant” poets, feeble-minded invalids from childhood...), “living and dying in a cruel and stupid bourgeois environment.” Since 1989 is permanent member Russian PEN Center.

1990-1999: Moving to the USA and journalistic activity

In 1990, the writer left for the USA, where she taught. Tolstaya taught Russian literature and creative writing at Skidmore College, located in Saratoga Springs and Princeton, and collaborated with New York Review of Books (English)Russian, The New Yorker, TLS and other journals, gave lectures at other universities. Subsequently, throughout the 1990s, the writer spent several months a year in America. According to her, living abroad initially influenced her strong influence in the linguistic aspect. She complained about how the emigrant Russian language was changing under the influence environment. In his short essay of that time, “Hope and Support,” Tolstaya gave examples of ordinary conversation in a Russian store on Brighton Beach: “Words such as “Swisslouffet cottage cheese,” “slice,” “half a pound of cheese,” and “lightly salted salmon” constantly wedge themselves into the conversation.” After four months in America, Tatyana Nikitichna noted that “her brain turns into minced meat or salad, where languages are mixed and some innuendos appear that are absent in both English and Russian.”

In 1991 he began his journalistic activities. He writes his own column “Own Bell Tower” in the weekly newspaper “Moscow News”, collaborates with the magazine “Stolitsa”, where he is a member of the editorial board. Essays, essays and articles by Tolstoy also appear in the Russian Telegraph magazine. In parallel with her journalistic activities, she continues to publish books. In 1998, she co-authored the book “Sisters” with her sister Natalia. Translations of her stories appear into English, German, French, Swedish and other languages of the world. In 1998, she became a member of the editorial board of the American magazine Counterpoint. In 1999, Tatyana Tolstaya returned to Russia, where she continued to engage in literary, journalistic and teaching activities.

2000-2012: Novel “Kys” and TV show “School of Scandal”

In 2000, the writer published her first novel “Kys”. The book received a lot of response and became very popular. Based on the novel, many theaters staged performances, and in 2001, a literary series project was carried out on the air of the state radio station Radio Russia, under the leadership of Olga Khmeleva. In the same year, three more books were published: “Day”, “Night” and “Two”. Noting the commercial success of the writer, Andrei Ashkerov wrote in the magazine “Russian Life” that total circulation books amounted to about 200 thousand copies and the works of Tatyana Nikitichna became available to the general public. Tolstaya receives the prize of the XIV Moscow International Book Fair in the Prose category, as well as the Triumph literary award. In 2002, Tatyana Tolstaya headed the editorial board of the Konservator newspaper.

In 2002, the writer also appeared on television for the first time, in the television program “Basic Instinct.” In the same year, she became a co-host (together with Avdotya Smirnova) of the TV show “School of Scandal,” aired on the Culture TV channel. The program receives recognition from television critics and in 2003 Tatyana Tolstaya and Avdotya Smirnova received the TEFI award in the category “Best Talk Show.”

In 2010, in collaboration with her niece Olga Prokhorova, she published her first children's book. Entitled “The Same ABC of Pinocchio,” the book is interconnected with the work of the writer’s grandfather, the book “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio.” Tolstaya said: “The idea for the book was born 30 years ago. Not without the help of my older sister... She always felt sorry that Pinocchio sold his ABC so quickly and that nothing was known about its contents. What bright pictures were there? What is it even about? Years passed, I switched to stories, during which time my niece grew up and gave birth to two children. And finally, I found time for the book. The half-forgotten project was picked up by my niece, Olga Prokhorova.” In the ranking best books XXIII Moscow International Book Fair, the book took second place in the “Children's Literature” section.

The works of Tatyana Tolstoy

Tatyana Tolstaya often talks about how she started writing stories. In 1982, she had problems with her eyesight and decided to undergo eye surgery, which at that time was performed using razor cuts. After surgery on her second eye, she for a long time I couldn't be in daylight.

This went on for a long time. I hung double curtains and only went outside after dark. I couldn’t do anything around the house, I couldn’t take care of the children. I couldn't read either. After three months, all this passes and you begin to see so unexpectedly clearly... That is, all impressionism goes away, and complete realism begins. And on the eve of this I felt that I could sit down and write good story- from start to finish. That's how I started writing.
Tatiana Tolstaya

The writer said that her favorite literature includes Russian classics. In 2008, her personal reader rating was made up of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov and Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The formation of Tolstoy as a writer and a person was greatly influenced by Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky, his articles, memoirs, memoirs, books about language and translations. The writer especially highlighted such works by Chukovsky as “ High art” and “Alive as life,” and said: “Whoever hasn’t read it, I highly recommend it, because it’s more interesting than detective stories, and it’s written amazingly. And in general he was one of the most brilliant Russian critics.”

Tolstoy is considered to be part of the “new wave” in literature. In particular, Vitaly Vulf wrote in his book “Silver Ball” (2003): “Writers are in fashion” new wave“: B. Akunin, Tatyana Tolstaya, Victor Pelevin. Talented people writing without condescension, without pity...” It is called one of the bright names of “artistic prose,” which has its roots in the “game prose” of Bulgakov and Olesha, which brought with it parody, buffoonery, celebration, and the eccentricity of the author’s “I.” Andrei Nemzer spoke about her like this early stories: “Tolstoy’s “aestheticism” was more important than her “moralism.”

Tatyana Tolstaya is also often classified in the genre of “women’s” prose, along with such writers as Victoria Tokareva, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya and Valeria Narbikova. Iya Guramovna Zumbulidze in her study “„ Women's prose“in the context of modern literature” wrote that “Tatiana Tolstoy’s work is on a par with the exponents of the tendency of modern Russian literature, which consists in the synthesis of certain features of realism, modernism and postmodernism.”

The writer's creativity is the object large quantity scientific research. IN different years her works were devoted to the works of Elena Nevzglyadova (1986), Peter Weil and Alexander Genis (1990), Prokhorova T. G. (1998), Belova E. (1999), Lipovetsky M. (2001), Pesotskaya S. (2001). In 2001, the monograph “The Explosive World of Tatyana Tolstoy” by E. Goshchilo was published, in which a study of Tatyana Tolstoy’s work was carried out in a cultural and historical context.

Tatyana Tolstaya actively maintains personal accounts on Facebook and LiveJournal, where she publishes partially or completely texts that are later included in her books. With her blog on Facebook, scandals have repeatedly arisen (Arkady Babchenko, Bozena Rynska) and emotional editorial content from the online community about the possibility or impossibility of presenting bills for previously provided assistance.

Stories period

For early period Tolstoy’s creativity is characterized by the predominance of such themes as universal questions of existence, “eternal” themes of good and evil, life and death, choice of path, relationship with the outside world and one’s destiny. Slavina V. A. noted that in the writer’s work there is a longing for the lost humanistic values in art. Researchers noted that almost all of Tolstoy’s characters are dreamers who are “stuck” between reality and their fictional world. The stories are dominated by a paradoxical point of view on the world; with the help of satire, the absurdity of some life phenomena is demonstrated. A. N. Neminushchy in his work “Motive of Death in art world stories by T. Tolstoy" noted artistic techniques embodiment of the idea of death in the writer’s stories, which are close to the aesthetics of modernity and postmodernity.

The textbook “Modern Russian Literature” noted a special author's position Tolstoy, which is expressed in a special literary-fairy-tale metaphorical style, the poetics of neo-mythologism, and in the choice of hero-storytellers. Neo-mythologism in her works was also manifested in the fact that Tolstaya used folklore images. In the story "Date with a Bird" she used the famous Russian folklore image- the Sirin bird. Alexander Genis in Novaya Gazeta noted that Tolstaya copes better with the use of metaphor than anyone else in modern literature. The author wrote that her metaphors have the influence of Olesha, but they are more organically integrated into the plot.

Some other stories use the technique of opposition and contrasts. The stories “Dear Shura” and “Circle” are built on the opposition of light and darkness (like life and death), which is later reflected in more later story"Night". The meaning of the antinomy “light - darkness” in the stories of Tatyana Tolstoy is central place and includes: “the opposition of the spiritual and the material, the sublime and the base, the living and the dead, the everyday and the existential, dreams and reality (imaginary and real), the eternal and the momentary, the good and the evil, the compassionate and the indifferent.”

Twenty-four stories of the writer were published: “They were sitting on the golden porch” (1983), “Date with a bird” (1983), “Sonya” (1984), “Clean Slate” (1984), “Okkervil River” (1985), “Dear Shura” (1985), “Mammoth Hunt” (1985), “Peters” (1986), “Sleep well, son” (1986), “Fire and Dust” (1986), “The Most Beloved” (1986) , “The Poet and the Muse” (1986), “Fakir” (1986), “Seraphim” (1986), “The Moon Came Out of the Fog” (1987), “If you love, you don’t love” (1984), “Night” (1987) , “Circle” (1987), “Flame of Heaven” (1987), “Somnambulist in the Fog” (1988), “Limpopo” (1990), “Plot” (1991), “Yorick” (2000), “Window” ( 2007). Thirteen of them made up the collection of stories “They Sat on the Golden Porch...” published in 1987 (“Fakir”, “Circle”, “Peters”, “Sweet Shura”, “Okkervil River”, etc.). In 1988 - “Somnambulist in the Fog.”

Family

Maternal great-grandfather - Boris Mikhailovich Shapirov, military doctor, Red Cross activist, personal physician of Nicholas II, active privy councilor.
Maternal grandfather - Mikhail Leonidovich Lozinsky, literary translator, poet.
Paternal grandfather - Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy, writer.
Paternal grandmother - Natalya Vasilievna Krandievskaya-Tolstaya, poetess.
Father - Nikita Alekseevich Tolstoy, physicist, public and political figure.
Mother - Natalya Mikhailovna Lozinskaya (Tolstaya).
Sister - Natalia Nikitichna Tolstaya, writer, teacher of Swedish at the Department of Scandinavian Philology, Faculty of Philology and Arts, St. Petersburg State University.
Brother - Ivan Nikitich Tolstoy, philologist, emigration historian, specializes in the period cold war. Columnist for Radio Liberty.
Brother - Mikhail Nikitich Tolstoy, physicist, political and public figure.
The eldest son is Artemy Lebedev, designer, artistic director Artemy Lebedev studio, blogs on LiveJournal.
The youngest son is Alexey Andreevich Lebedev, a photographer, computer program architect, lives in the USA. Married.

A television

On August 12, 1999, she participated in the TV show “Basic Instinct.”
From October 2002 to 2014, together with Avdotya Smirnova, she hosted the TV show “School of Scandal.”
Together with Alexander Maslyakov, she was a permanent member of the jury of the television project “Minute of Glory” on Channel One since 2007 (seasons 1-3).

Bibliography

The bibliography of Tatyana Tolstoy is represented by the following collections and novels:

“They sat on the golden porch...”: Stories. - M.: Young Guard, 1987. - 198 p.
Whether you love or not: Stories. - M.: Onyx; OLMA-press, 1997. - 381 p.
Sisters: Essays, sketches, articles, stories. - M.: Publishing house. House "Podkova", 1998. - 392 p. (Co-authored with N. Tolstaya)
Okkervil River: Stories. - M.: Podkova; Eksmo, 2005. - 462 p.
Two. - M.: Podkova, 2001. - 476 p. (Co-authored with N. Tolstaya)
Kys: Roman. - M.: Podkova, 2001. - 318 p.
Raisin. - M.: Podkova; Eksmo, 2002. - 381 p.
Circle: Stories. - M.: Podkova; Eksmo, 2003. - 345 p.
Don't give a damn: Stories, articles, essays and interviews by Tatyana Tolstoy. - M.: Eksmo, 2004. - 608 p.
White Walls: Stories. - M.: Eksmo, 2004. - 586 p.
Kitchen of the School of Scandal. - M.: Kitchen, 2004. - 360 p. (Co-authored with A. Smirnova)
Women's Day. - M.: Eksmo; Olympus, 2006. - 380 p.
Day. Personal. - M.: Eksmo, 2007. - 461 p.
Night: Stories. - M.: Eksmo, 2007. - 413 p.
River: Stories and Novels. - M.: Eksmo, 2007. - 384 p.
Kys. Animal tour. Stories. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 640 p.
The same ABC of Pinocchio. - M.: Pink Giraffe, 2011. - 72 p. (Co-authored with O. Prokhorova)
Light worlds: Novels, short stories, essays. - M.: Editorial office of Elena Shubina, 2014. - 480 p.
Girl in bloom. - M.: AST; Edited by Elena Shubina, 2015. - 352 p. - 12,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-17-086711-0.
Felt age. - M.: AST; Edited by Elena Shubina, 2015. - 352 p. - 14,000 copies.

In translation

On the Golden Porch, and other stories Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1989, then Penguin, 1990, ISBN 0-14-012275-3.
The Slynx New York Review of Books Classics, 2007, ISBN 1-59017-196-9
White Walls New York Review of Books Classics, 2007, ISBN 1-59017-197-7

Awards

Winner of the Triumph Prize (2001)
Laureate National Award public recognition achievements of Russian women "OLYMPIA" (2003)
Winner of the TEFI award, together with Avdotya Smirnova (2003)
Winner of the prize in the category " New culture new Europe" of the XX International Economic Forum in Poland (2010)
Winner of the Belkin Prize for the story “Light Worlds” (2014)
Included in the short list of the literary “Sasha Cherny Prize” (story “Light Worlds”)

Tatiana Tolstaya - photo

Tatiana Tolstaya - quotes

There is no worse enemy than indifference! WITH tacit consent It is the indifferent people who commit all the atrocities. Have you read Mumu? Did you understand the parable? How he kept silent and silent, and the dog died.

) - Russian writer, publicist and TV presenter.

The most famous novel of the writer is “Kys”, which received the “Triumph” award. The works of Tatyana Tolstoy, including the collections of stories “If you love - you don’t love”, “Okkervil River”, “Day”, “Night”, “Raisin”, “Circle”, “White Walls”, have been translated into many languages of the world.

The writer gained widespread popularity in 2002, when she became the co-host of the television program “School of Scandal.” In 2011, she was included in the rating of “One Hundred Most Influential Women of Russia” compiled by the radio station “Echo of Moscow”, information agencies RIA Novosti, “Interfax” and the magazine “Ogonyok”.

Biography

1951-1983: Childhood, youth and work as a proofreader

Tatyana Tolstaya was born on May 3, 1951 in Leningrad, in the family of physics professor Nikita Alekseevich Tolstoy. Tatyana grew up in a large family where she had seven brothers and sisters. The maternal grandfather of the future writer is Mikhail Leonidovich Lozinsky, literary translator, poet. On her father's side, she is the granddaughter of the writer Alexei Tolstoy and the poetess Natalia Krandievskaya.

After graduating from school, Tolstaya entered Leningrad University, the department of classical philology (with the study of Latin and Greek), which she graduated in 1974. In the same year, she got married and, following her husband, moved to Moscow, where she got a job as a proofreader in the “Main Editorial Office of Oriental Literature” at the Nauka publishing house. Having worked at the publishing house until 1983, Tatyana Tolstaya published her first literary works in the same year and made her debut as a literary critic with the article “Glue and Scissors...” (“Voprosy Literatury”, 1983, No. 9). By her own admission, what made her start writing was the fact that she had undergone eye surgery. “Now, after laser correction, the bandage is removed after a couple of days, but then I had to lie with the bandage for a whole month. And since it was impossible to read, the plots of the first stories began to appear in my head,” said Tolstaya.

1983-1989: Literary success

In 1983, she wrote her first story entitled “They were sitting on the golden porch...”, published in the Aurora magazine in the same year. The story was noted by both the public and critics and was recognized as one of the best literary debuts of the 1980s. The artistic work was “a kaleidoscope of children’s impressions of simple events and ordinary people, who appear to children as various mysterious and fairy-tale characters.” Subsequently, Tolstaya published about twenty more stories in periodicals. Her works are published in Novy Mir and other major magazines. “Date with a Bird” (1983), “Sonya” (1984), “Clean Slate” (1984), “If you love it, you don’t love it” (1984), “Okkervil River” (1985), “Mammoth Hunt” ( 1985), “Peters” (1986), “Sleep well, son” (1986), “Fire and Dust” (1986), “The Most Beloved” (1986), “Poet and Muse” (1986), “Seraphim” ( 1986), “The Moon Came Out of the Fog” (1987), “Night” (1987), “Flame of Heaven” (1987), “Somnambulist in the Fog” (1988). In 1987, the first collection of stories by the writer was published, entitled similarly to her first story - “They were sitting on the golden porch...”. The collection includes both previously known and unpublished works: “Dear Shura” (1985), “Fakir” (1986), “Circle” (1987). After the publication of the collection, Tatyana Tolstaya was accepted as a member of the USSR Writers' Union.

Soviet criticism was wary of Tolstoy's literary works. She was reproached for the “density” of her writing, for the fact that “you can’t read a lot in one sitting.” Other critics greeted the writer’s prose with delight, but noted that all her works were written according to the same structured template. In intellectual circles, Tolstaya gains a reputation as an original, independent author. At that time, the main characters of the writer’s works were “urban madmen” (old-regime old women, “brilliant” poets, feeble-minded invalids from childhood...), “living and dying in a cruel and stupid bourgeois environment.” Since 1989 he has been a permanent member of the Russian PEN Center.

1990-1999: Moving to the USA and journalistic activity

In 1990, the writer left for the USA, where she began teaching. Tolstaya taught Russian literature and creative writing at Skidmore College, located in Saratoga Springs and Princeton, and collaborated with. Subsequently, throughout the 1990s, the writer spent several months a year in America. According to her, living abroad initially had a strong influence on her in terms of language. She complained about how the emigrant Russian language was changing under the influence of the environment. In her short essay of that time, “Hope and Support,” Tolstaya gave examples of ordinary conversation in a Russian store on Brighton Beach: “where words like “Swissloufet cottage cheese”, “slice”, “half pound cheese” and “ lightly salted salmon." After four months in America, Tatyana Nikitichna noted that “her brain turns into minced meat or salad, where languages are mixed and some innuendos appear that are absent in both English and Russian.”

In 1991 he began his journalistic activities. He maintains his own column “His own bell tower” in the weekly newspaper “Moscow News”, collaborates with the magazine “Capital”, where he is a member of the editorial board. Tolstoy's essays, sketches and articles also appear in the Russian Telegraph magazine. In parallel with her journalistic activities, she continues to publish books. In the 1990s, such works as “If you love - you don’t love” (1997), “Sisters” (co-authored with sister Natalia Tolstoy) (1998), “Okkervil River” (1999) were published. Translations of her stories into English, German, French, Swedish and other languages of the world appear. In 1998, she became a member of the editorial board of the American magazine Counterpoint. In 1999, Tatyana Tolstaya returned to Russia, where she continued to engage in literary, journalistic and teaching activities.

2000-2012: Novel “Kys” and TV show “School of Scandal”

In 2000, the writer published her first novel “Kys”. The book generated a lot of response and became very popular. Based on the novel, many theaters staged performances, and in 2001, a literary series project was carried out on the air of the state radio station “Radio of Russia”, under the leadership of Olga Khmeleva. In the same year, three more books were published: “Day”, “Night” and “Two”. Noting the commercial success of the writer, Andrei Ashkerov wrote in the magazine “Russian Life” that the total circulation of the books was about 200 thousand copies and Tatyana Nikitichna’s works became available to the general public. Tolstaya receives the prize of the XIV Moscow International Book Fair in the “Prose” category. In 2002, Tatyana Tolstaya headed the editorial board of the Konservator newspaper.

In 2002, the writer also appeared on television for the first time, in the television program “Basic Instinct”. In the same year, she became a co-host (together with Avdotya Smirnova) of the TV show “School of Scandal,” aired on the Kultura TV channel. The program receives recognition from television critics and in 2003 Tatyana Tolstaya and Avdotya Smirnova received the TEFI award in the category “Best Talk Show”.

In 2010, in collaboration with her niece Olga Prokhorova, she published her first children's book. Entitled “The same ABC of Pinocchio,” the book is interconnected with the work of the writer’s grandfather - the book “The Golden Key, or The Adventures of Pinocchio.” Tolstaya said: “The idea for the book was born 30 years ago. Not without the help of my older sister... She always felt sorry that Pinocchio sold his ABC so quickly and that nothing was known about its contents. What bright pictures were there? What is it even about? Years passed, I switched to stories, during which time my niece grew up and gave birth to two children. And finally, I found time for the book. The half-forgotten project was picked up by my niece, Olga Prokhorova." In the ranking of the best books of the XXIII Moscow International Book Fair, the book took second place in the “Children's Literature” section.

The works of Tatyana Tolstoy

In an interview with the publication Ukrayinska Pravda, Tatyana Tolstaya spoke in detail about why she started writing stories. According to her confessions, in 1982 she had problems with her eyesight and decided to undergo eye surgery, which at that time was performed using razor cuts. After surgery on her second eye, she could not be in daylight for a long time.

This went on for a long time. I hung double curtains and only went outside after dark. I couldn’t do anything around the house, I couldn’t take care of the children. I couldn't read either. After three months, all this passes and you begin to see so unexpectedly clearly... That is, all impressionism goes away, and complete realism begins. And on the eve of this, I felt that I could sit down and write a good story - from beginning to end. That's how I started writing.

Tatiana Tolstaya

The writer said that her favorite literature includes Russian classics. In 2008, her personal reader rating was made up of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov and Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The formation of Tolstoy as a writer and a person was greatly influenced by Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky, his articles, memoirs, memoirs, books about language and translations. The writer especially highlighted such works by Chukovsky as “High Art” and “Alive as Life”, and said: “Whoever hasn’t read it, I highly recommend it, because it’s more interesting than detective stories, and it’s written amazingly. And in general he was one of the most brilliant Russian critics."

Tolstoy is considered to be part of the “new wave” in literature. In particular, Vitaly Vulf wrote in his book “Silver Ball” (2003): “New wave writers are in fashion: B. Akunin, Tatyana Tolstaya, Victor Pelevin. Talented people who write without condescension, without pity...” She is called [ Who?] one of the bright names of “artistic prose”, rooted in the “game prose” of Bulgakov, Olesha, which brought with it parody, buffoonery, celebration, and the eccentricity of the author’s “I”. Anna Brazhkina on the website of the online encyclopedia “Krugosvet” noted that in the early prose of the writer, critics noted, on the one hand, the influence of Shklovsky and Tynyanov, and on the other, Remizov. Andrei Nemzer spoke about her early stories as follows: “Tolstaya’s ‘aestheticism’ was more important than her ‘moralism’.”

Tatyana Tolstaya is also often classified in the genre of “women’s” prose, along with such writers as Victoria Tokareva, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya and Valeria Narbikova. Iya Guramovna Zumbulidze in her study “Women’s Prose in the Context of Modern Literature” wrote that “Tatiana Tolstoy’s work is on a par with the exponents of the trend in modern Russian literature, which consists in the synthesis of certain features of realism, modernism and postmodernism.”

The writer's work is the subject of a large number of scientific studies. Over the years, the works of Elena Nevzglyadova (1986), Peter Weil and Alexander Genis (1990), Prokhorova T.G. were dedicated to her works. (1998), Belova E. (1999), Lipovetsky M. (2001), Pesotskaya S. (2001). In 2001, the monograph “The Explosive World of Tatyana Tolstoy” by E. Goshchilo was published, in which a study of Tatyana Tolstoy’s work was carried out in a cultural and historical context.

Stories period

The early period of Tolstoy’s work is characterized by the predominance of such themes as universal questions of existence, “eternal” themes of good and evil, life and death, choice of path, relationship with the outside world and one’s destiny. Slavina V.A. noted that in the writer’s work there is a longing for the lost humanistic values in art. Researchers noted that almost all of Tolstoy’s characters are dreamers who are “stuck” between reality and their fictional world. The stories are dominated by a paradoxical point of view on the world; with the help of satire, the absurdity of some life phenomena is demonstrated. A. N. Neminushchy in his work “The Motif of Death in the Artistic World of T. Tolstoy’s Stories” noted the artistic techniques of embodying the idea of death in the writer’s stories, which are close to the aesthetics of modernity and postmodernity.

The textbook “Modern Russian Literature” noted Tolstoy’s special authorial position, which is expressed in the special literary-fairy-tale metaphorical style, the poetics of neo-mythologism, and the choice of hero-storytellers. Neo-mythologism in her works was also manifested in the fact that Tolstaya used folklore images. In the story "A Date with a Bird" she used a famous Russian folklore image - the bird Sirin. Alexander Genis in Novaya Gazeta noted that Tolstaya copes better than anyone in modern literature with the use of metaphor. The author wrote that her metaphors have the influence of Olesha, but they are more organically integrated into the plot.

Some other stories use the technique of opposition and contrasts. The stories “Sweet Shura” and “Circle” are built on the opposition of light and darkness (like life and death), which is later reflected in the later story “Night”. The meaning of the antinomy “light - darkness” in Tatyana Tolstoy’s stories occupies a central place and includes: “the opposition of the spiritual and the material, the sublime and the base, the living and the dead, the everyday and the existential, dreams and reality (imaginary and real), the eternal and the momentary, the good and evil, compassionate and indifferent."

Family

A television

On August 12, 1999, she participated in the television program “Basic Instinct”.
Since October 2002, together with Avdotya Smirnova, he has been hosting the TV show “School of Scandal.”
Together with Alexander Maslyakov, she was a permanent member of the jury of the television project “Minute of Fame” on Channel One since 2007 (seasons 1-3).
Tatyana Tolstaya was parodied twice in the TV show “Big Difference” by the troupe artist Galina Konshina as a member of the jury in the show “Minute of Glory” on Channel One and once as a co-host of the program “School of Scandal”

Bibliography

The bibliography of Tatyana Tolstoy is represented by the following collections and novels:

They sat on the golden porch / Stories. – M.: Young Guard, 1987. – 198 p.
Whether you love or not / Stories. – M.: Onyx; OLMA-press, 1997. – 381 p.
Sisters / S. N. Tolstoy. – Essays, essays, articles, stories. – M.: Publishing house. House "Podkova", 1998. – 392 p.
Okkervil River / Stories. – M.: Podkova; Eksmo, 2005. – 462 p.
Two / S N. Tolstoy. – M.: Podkova, 2001. – 476 p.
Kys / Roman. – M.: Podkova, 2001. – 318 p.
Raisin / M.: Podkova; Eksmo, 2002. – 381 p.
Circle / Stories. – M.: Podkova; Eksmo, 2003. – 345 p.
White walls / Stories. – M.: Eksmo, 2004. – 586 p.
Women's Day / M.: Eksmo; Olympus, 2006. – 380 p.
Day. Personal / M.: Eksmo, 2007. – 461 p.
Night / Stories. – M.: Eksmo, 2007. – 413 p.
Don't give a damn (2007)
River (2007)
Kys. Animal tour. Stories (2009)

In translation

On the Golden Porch, and other stories Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1989, then Penguin, 1990, ISBN 0-14-012275-3.
The Slynx ISBN 1-59017-196-9
White Walls New York Review of Books Classics, 2007, ISBN 1-59017-197-7

Awards

Notes

100 influential Russian women // Ogonyok. - 2012. - № 3 (5212).
Rastorgueva T.M.. Tatyana Tolstaya told the librarians of Kungur about creativity and herself. iskra-kungur.ru (March 10, 2011). Archived
One hundred most influential women in Russia. RIA News . Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
Tatiana Tolstaya. vashdosug.ru. Archived
Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya. Biographical information. RIA Novosti (May 3, 2011). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
Anna Brazhkina. Tolstaya, Tatyana Nikitichna. Around the world. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya. Magazine room. Archived
Tolstaya T. (biography 2). litra.ru. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
Yulia Yuzefovich. British language vinaigrette ("England", Great Britain). rus.ruvr.ru (December 13, 2011). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
Svetlana Sadkova."Kys" on air // Work. - 2001. - № 10.
Andrey Ashkerov. Tatiana Tolstaya as a mirror of the Russian intelligentsia. Chronos (January 15, 2002). Archived
Publication of the first issue of the newspaper Konservator. Echo of Moscow (August 29, 2002). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
"School of Scandal" was recognized as the best talk show. RIA Novosti (August 26, 2003). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
Natalya Vertlieb. Tatyana Tolstaya wrote "The ABC for Buratino". nnmama.ru (October 25, 2010). Archived
Natalya Kirillova. Consumers Liter. Profile (September 6, 2010). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
Lisa Hworth. Tatyana Tolstaya: “I wanted to feel like a complete idiot.” Ukrainian Truth (September 18, 2008). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
Elena Gladskikh. An excellent student at the School of Scandal. telekritika.ua (October 17, 2008). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
Lyudmila Zueva. Tatyana TOLSTAYA: I'm not a media character! // Exchange Plus. - 2010. - № 38.
Leo Sirin. Last interview with Vitaly Vulf. online812.ru (March 14, 2011). Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
Vastevsky A. The nights are cold // Friendship of Peoples. - 1988. - No. 7. - pp. 256-258.
Zumbulidze I. G.“Women’s prose” in the context of modern literature [Text] / I. G. Zumbulidze // Modern philology: materials of the international. in absentia scientific conf. (Ufa, April 2011). / Under the general ed. G. D. Akhmetova. - Ufa: Summer, 2011. - pp. 21-23.
Slavina V. A. Modern literature in search of the ideal // Teacher. - 2005. - No. 2. - p.38-41.
Neminushchy A.N. The motive of death in the artistic world of Tatyana Tolstoy's stories // Actual problems literature. Commentary on the 20th century: Materials international conference. - (Svetlogorsk September 25-28, 2000). - Kaliningrad, - 2001. - P. 120-125.
Popova I.M., Gubanova T.V., Lyubeznaya E.V.

Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya. Born on May 3, 1951 in Leningrad. Russian writer, publicist, literary critic, teacher, journalist and TV presenter.

Comes from the ancient and famous Tolstoy family in Russia.

Paternal grandfather - Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy, writer.

Paternal grandmother - Natalya Vasilievna Krandievskaya-Tolstaya, poetess.

“My ancestor Peter Andreevich Tolstoy was, as it were, the first head of the FSB - under Peter the Great. He is the strangler of Tsarevich Alexei. That is, he did not strangle him himself, he simply stole him and took him out of Italy. The fact is that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, as you know, he was married twice and Peter was his. only child from his second wife. And Tolstoy Pyotr Andreich was a relative of the tsar through his first wife, they were some kind of cousins,” she said.

By the way, while dying, Tsarevich Alexei cursed Pyotr Andreich Tolstoy and all his descendants up to the twentieth generation. Although what exactly the curse is is unknown.

Famous writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is considered to be “someone like a seventh cousin.” Far away, but also a relative.

My father was a physicist and optician. Professor at Leningrad University. Employee of the Optical Institute GOI, laureate of the Stalin Prize.

Maternal great-grandfather - Boris Mikhailovich Shapirov, military doctor, Red Cross activist, personal physician of Nicholas II, active privy councilor.

Maternal grandfather - Mikhail Leonidovich Lozinsky, literary translator, poet.

Mother - Natalya Mikhailovna Lozinskaya (Tolstaya).

She grew up in the Lensoviet house on the Karpovka River Embankment in a large family where she had six brothers and sisters.

Sister Natalia Nikitichna Tolstaya is a writer, teacher of Swedish at the Department of Scandinavian Philology, Faculty of Philology and Arts, St. Petersburg State University. Brother Ivan Nikitich Tolstoy is a philologist, historian of emigration, specializing in the Cold War period, columnist for Radio Liberty. Brother Mikhail Nikitich Tolstoy is a physicist, political and public figure.

Tatyana Tolstaya in Posner's program

After graduating from school, Tolstaya entered Leningrad University, the department of classical philology (with the study of Latin and Greek), which she graduated in 1974.

Then she got married and moved to Moscow. There she got a job as a proofreader in the Main Editorial Office of Oriental Literature at the Nauka Publishing House. Having worked in the publishing house until 1983, he published his first literary works and made his debut as a literary critic with the article “Glue and Scissors...”.

By her own admission, what made her start writing was the fact that she had undergone eye surgery. “Now, after laser correction, the bandage is removed after a couple of days, but then I had to lie with the bandage for a whole month. And since it was impossible to read, the plots of the first stories began to appear in my head.”, she said.

In 1983, she wrote her first story, entitled “They Sat on the Golden Porch...”, published in Aurora magazine. The story was noted by both the public and critics and was recognized as one of the best literary debuts of the 1980s. Subsequently, Tolstaya published about twenty more stories in periodicals.

Her works are published in Novy Mir and other major magazines.

In 1987, the first collection of stories by the writer was published, entitled similarly to her first story - “They were sitting on the golden porch...”.

After the publication of the collection, Tatyana Tolstaya was accepted as a member of the USSR Writers' Union.

Critics were wary of her literary works. She was reproached for the “density” of the letter, for the fact that “you can’t read a lot in one sitting.” Other critics greeted the writer’s prose with delight, but noted that all her works were written according to the same structured template.

At that time, the main characters in the writer’s works were “urban madmen” - old-regime old women, “brilliant” poets, mentally disabled children with disabilities, etc.

Since 1989 he has been a permanent member of the Russian PEN Center.

In 1990, the writer left for the USA, where she taught. Tolstaya taught Russian literature and creative writing at Skidmore College, located in Saratoga Springs and Princeton, collaborated with the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, TLS and other magazines, and lectured at other universities.

In 1991 he began his journalistic activities. Writes his own column "Own bell tower" in the weekly newspaper “Moscow News”, collaborates with the magazine “Capital”, where he is a member of the editorial board. Essays, essays and articles by Tolstoy also appear in the Russian Telegraph magazine.

In parallel with her journalistic activities, she continues to publish books. In 1998, she co-authored the book “Sisters” with her sister Natalia. Translations of her stories appear into English, German, French, Swedish and other languages of the world.

In 1998, she became a member of the editorial board of the American magazine Counterpoint.

In 1999, Tatyana Tolstaya returned to Russia, where she continued to engage in literary, journalistic and teaching activities.

In 2000, the writer published her first novel "Kys". The book received a lot of response and became very popular. Based on the novel, many theaters staged performances, and in 2001, a literary series project was carried out on the air of the state radio station Radio Russia, under the leadership of Olga Khmeleva.

In the same year, three more books were published: “Day”, “Night” and “Two”. She receives the prize of the XIV Moscow International Book Fair in the “Prose” category.

In 2002, Tatyana Tolstaya headed the editorial board of the Konservator newspaper.

In 2002, the writer also appeared on television for the first time, in the television program “Basic Instinct.” In the same year, she became a co-host (together with Avdotya Smirnova) of a television show "School of Scandal", aired on the Culture TV channel. The program receives recognition from television critics and in 2003 Tatyana Tolstaya and Avdotya Smirnova received the TEFI award in the category “Best Talk Show.” The program was published until 2014.

School of slander - Ksenia Sobchak

Tatiana Tolstoy's height: 157 centimeters

Personal life of Tatyana Tolstoy:

She met her husband, Andrei Lebedev, while studying at Leningrad University. He is the son of a famous general. He is also a philologist by training.

They got married in 1974 - after Tolstaya graduated from university. Soon they moved from Leningrad to Moscow.

They had two sons. The eldest - and the youngest - Alexey. Now it's pretty famous personalities. Artemy became a famous web designer and layout developer for many sites, and also created his own design studio.

Alexey is a programmer and photographer who lives and works in America.

Bibliography of Tatyana Tolstoy:

1987 - “They sat on the golden porch...”: Stories
1997 - Whether you love it or not: Stories
1998 - Sisters: Essays, sketches, articles, stories
2005 - Okkervil River: Stories
2001 - Two. (co-authored with N. Tolstaya)
2001 - Kys: A Novel
2002 - Raisin
2003 - Circle: Stories
2004 - Don't be a pussy: Stories, articles, essays and interviews by Tatyana Tolstoy
2004 - White Walls: Stories
2004 - Kitchen of the “School of Scandal.” (co-authored with A. Smirnova)
2006 - Women's Day
2007 - Day. Personal
2007 - Night: Stories
2007 - River: Stories and Novels
2009 - Kys. Animal tour. Stories
2011 - The same ABC of Pinocchio. (co-authored with O. Prokhorova)
2014 - Light worlds: Novels, stories, essays
2015 - Girl in Bloom
2015 - Felt Age

In the very famous novel Tatyana Tolstoy's "Kys" you can find words that a person is the crossroads of two abysses, which are equally bottomless and equally incomprehensible - this is the external world and the internal world.

The biography of Tatyana Tolstoy is worthy of a separate story. It shows how two abysses of internal and outside world met and intertwined in her destiny.

Tatyana Tolstaya was born on May 3, 1951 in Leningrad, a city on the Neva. Her last name speaks for itself - she is one of the many representatives of the Tolstoy clan, a direct descendant famous writer Alexei Tolstoy (granddaughter). Graduated from Leningrad University, department of classical philology. The year she graduated from university (1974), Tatyana married Andrei Lebedev and moved with him to Moscow. In the capital, she got a job as a proofreader at the Nauka publishing house, in the Main Editorial Office of Oriental Literature.

The biography of Tatyana Tolstoy followed the well-worn road of a girl from intelligent family with literary roots. Perhaps she would have edited other people’s texts until she was very old, if not for the event that served as the impetus for her creative work. In the early eighties, she had to undergo ophthalmological surgery, after which she had to wear clothes for a month. A time of forced inactivity came, when it turned out to be impossible to work, even just read a book. And then the granddaughter of the author of “Peter the Great” and “Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin” began to invent the plots of her own stories and novels. It was during this period of immersion in darkness that the writer Tatyana Tolstaya appeared.

Her biography in this new capacity began with the publication in 1983 of an article written in criticism entitled “Glue and Scissors.” At the same time (1983) the first literary story“They were sitting on the golden porch...” From this moment, Tatyana Nikitichna began to actively publish in literary magazines. In 1987, a collection of stories “They Sat on the Golden Porch...” was published, after which the “beginning” writer was accepted by his colleagues into the Writers’ Union.

The nineties, as Tatyana Tolstoy’s biography notes, passed from 1990 to 1999, she lived for a long time in America, where she taught, gave lectures and collaborated with local magazines. Also at this time, Tatyana tried herself in journalism: she wrote a column in Moscow News and worked in the magazine Stolitsa. In parallel with this, her stories are published, some of them are translated into foreign languages. In 1999, the writer finally returned to her homeland.

The further biography of Tatyana Tolstoy develops under two signs: “Kys” and “School of Scandal.” The novel "Kys", which was published in 2000, immediately became extremely popular. He received the Triumph Award and the prize of the International Book Fair in Moscow. In 2002, our heroine became the head of the editorial board of the Conservator magazine.

In the same 2002, Tatyana Nikitichna began hosting a unique intellectual talk show “School of Scandal” on television together with the screenwriter. The program is still broadcast on central television and enjoys stable success with its audience.

The eldest son of Tatyana Tolstoy is also well known to a wide audience - Artemy Lebedev, the head of the Artemy Lebedev Studio - the most famous Internet designer, blogger, businessman and inventor.

03/05/2011

Writer, publicist, TV presenter Tatyana Nikitichna Tolstaya born on May 3, 1951 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in literary family. She is the granddaughter on one side of the writer Alexey Tolstoy and the poetess Natalia Krandievskaya, according to another - the famous literary translator Mikhail Lozinsky.

After graduating from school, Tatyana Tolstaya entered Leningrad University in the department of classical philology (Latin and Greek), from which she graduated in 1974.

She got married and, following her husband, a Muscovite, moved to Moscow, where she got a job as a proofreader at the “Main Editorial Office of Oriental Literature” at the Nauka publishing house.

In 1983, she wrote her first story, published that same year in Aurora magazine. Later she was published in Novy Mir and other major magazines. In subsequent years, she wrote the stories “Date with a Bird” (1983), “Sonya” (1984), “Clean Slate” (1984), “Okkervil River” (1985), “Mammoth Hunt” (1985), “Peters "(1986), "Sleep well, son" (1986), "Fire and Dust" (1986), "The Most Beloved" (1986), "The Poet and the Muse" (1986), "Seraphim" (1986), "Went Out month from the fog" (1987), "If you love - you don't love" (1984), "Night" (1987), "Heavenly Flame" (1987), "Somnambulist in the Fog" (1988), "Limpopo" (1990), " Plot" (1991), "Yorik" (2000), "Window" (2007).

In 1987, a collection of her stories “They Sat on the Golden Porch...” was published in Moscow, which included thirteen stories by Tolstoy, including: “Dear Shura” (1985), “Fakir” (1986), “Circle” (1987 ) etc. After the publication of the collection, Tatyana Tolstaya was accepted as a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR.

Then she published collections of stories “If you love - you don’t love” (1997), “Sisters” (co-authored with her sister Natalia Tolstoy) (1998), “Okkervil River” (1999), “Day. Personal” (2001), “Night "(2001), "Two" (co-authored with Natalia Tolstaya) (2001), "Raisin" (2002), "Circle" (2003), "White Walls" (2004), "Women's Day" (2006), " Not Kys" (2007), "River" (2007), "Kys. Animal Tour" (2009).

In 2000, Tolstoy's first novel, "Kys", was published, causing many responses and becoming very popular. Based on the novel, many theaters staged performances, and in 2001, a literary series project was carried out on the air of the state radio station Radio Russia.

Tatyana Tolstaya is known not only as a writer, but also as a journalist. Her essays, essays, articles published in 1990-1998. in the newspapers "Moscow News" and "Russian Telegraph", in 1998 they were published in the collection "Sisters".

Tatyana Nikitichna lived in the USA for a long time, where she taught Russian literature and creative writing at Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs) and Princeton, collaborated with the New York review of books, The New-Yorker, TLS and other magazines, and gave lectures at other universities. Returning in the late 1990s. home, she took up literary, journalistic and teaching activities.

In 2002, Tolstaya took part in the TV show “Basic Instinct.” From the same year, she became the constant presenter (together with Dunya Smirnova) of the television talk show “School of Scandal” on the NTV channel. In co-authorship with Smirnova, she wrote the book “Kitchen of the School of Scandal.”

Tatyana Nikitichna was a permanent member of the jury of the show “Minute of Fame” (seasons 1-3) on Channel One.

Tatyana Tolstaya - winner of the Triumph Prize for 2001.

In 2003, she was awarded the TEFI television award.

In 2010, she won the prize in the category “New Culture of New Europe,” which she was awarded at the 20th International Economic Forum in the Polish city of Krynica-Zdroj (Lesser Poland Voivodeship).

Tatyana Tolstoy has two sons: Artemy Lebedev, designer, artistic director of the Artemy Lebedev Studio, and Alexey Lebedev, photographer, computer program architect. Lives in the USA.