В творческой лаборатории Л.Н. Толстого и А.П. Чехова. Рецензия на книгу: Еремеева Д.Н. Не пиши! Не будь писателем! М.: Бослен, 2025. 208 с.

In the Creative Laboratory of L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov. Book Review: Eremeeva D.N. Ne pishi! Ne bud’ pisatelem! Moscow, Boslen Publ., 2025. 208 p.

Darya Nikolaevna Eremeeva, a senior researcher at the State Museum of L.N. Tolstoy, is the author of several books about the writer’s work, including “Count Leo Tolstoy. How He Joked, Whom He Loved, What He Admired, and What He Condemned” (M., 2017 and 2024) and “The Genius’s Sister. The Life Path of Maria Tolstoy” (M., 2022). The monograph “Don’t Write! Don’t Be a Writer!” (M., 2025) is devoted to an important but understudied topic: the role of Tolstoy and Chekhov as theorists of creative writing. The book describes how ideas and characters are born, the advices that Tolstoy and Chekhov gave to aspiring writers, and the principles they themselves adhered to. It is precisely this aspect of their work that requires study, and this explains the relevance of this book. Despite the somewhat ironic title of the book, the two geniuses, on the contrary, gave advice to aspiring writers, helped them establish themselves in literature, assisted them in getting published, and sometimes even edited the texts they sent them. In this way, they simply explained how difficult this path can be. The choice of these particular writers is due to a number of reasons: the author’s love for them; the fact that they held each other in high regard and learned from one another; the fact that they spent a lot of time reflecting on writing in their diaries, letters, and articles, and they cared passionately about Russian literature. Moreover, they complement each other well. The book is intended for a wide readership; above all, it will be of interest to students of literary institutions and journalism faculties, literature teachers, writers, and all lovers of Russian literature.