Evgeny Vodolazkin is a Russian writer, a connoisseur of Old Russian literature, a student of Academician Dmitry Likhachev. Critics call him a virtuoso of the Russian language. On the pages of his books, he deftly "plays" with words, transforming them into sensations, sounds, smells. His novel Laurel made a splash, was translated into 23 languages and became the main book event of 2013.
Biography: early years
Evgeny Germanovich Vodolazkin was born on February 21, 1964 in Kiev. Little is known about the childhood of the future writer, since he himself does not like to talk about it. It is only known that the Vodolazkin family lived in a communal apartment. She was in a house that had not been overhauled for a long time. It is also known that Vodolazkin was a difficult teenager. Together with his friends, he often bullied and missed lessons.
After school, Eugene became a student at the Faculty of Russian Philology at Kiev University. After graduating with honors, he moved to St. Petersburg. There he continued his postgraduate studies at the Department of Old Russian Literature of the Institute of Russian Literature (now the Pushkin House) at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. One of his mentors was the famous philologist Dmitry Likhachev.
Career
While still at the institute, Eugene began to publish his articles in such a respected scientific publication as Russian Literature. He also participated in the release of the encyclopedia "The Word about Igor's Campaign", "The Literature Library of Ancient Rus".
The test of the pen took place back in the mid-nineties. It was then that Vodolazkin wrote the first book, but it was never published. He went headlong into fiction only at the dawn of the 2000s. Then Vodolazkin clearly distinguished between creative and scientific activities.
Soon Evgeniy became a Doctor of Philology and a leading employee of the Institute of Russian Literature. In parallel, Vodolazkin gave lectures at various universities, including Munich.
In 2012, Evgeniy was appointed editor-in-chief of the almanac "Text and Tradition". Prior to that, he was a member of the editorial board of Russian Literature.
Soon, Eugene released the novel "Laurel", which brought him worldwide fame. He became his most famous book. The novel is unique in its style. Vodolazkin masterfully recreated Old Russian speech in the monologues of the protagonist. Critics have boldly dubbed such a style "the weaving of words." The novel brought Eugene several awards, including "Yasnaya Polyana" and "Big Book".
For the next three years, Vodolazkin presented stories, plays and essays to the public. In 2016, the novel "Aviator" was released, which also brought the author several awards.
In 2018, the writer presented the novel Brisbane. In it, he continued the stories of the main characters "Lavra" and "Aviator".
Vodolazkin's books are characterized by a thorough disclosure of the topic, a clear separation of good and evil, and a scrupulous attitude to details. His works force us to reflect on the eternal questions of life.
Personal life
Evgeny Vodolazkin has been married to Tatiana Rudi for many years. He met his future wife while still in graduate school. Tatyana also specialized in the literature of Ancient Rus. According to rumors, they were brought together by Dmitry Likhachev himself. In marriage, a daughter, Natalia, was born.
