The main characters of the works of this famous writer are women immersed in their daily lives. All her tales and stories are read in one breath, as a whole. From the first pages of the reader, he is drawn into the cycle of numerous women's problems. There is no doubt a connection with modern female prose - romantic and ironic. Something in her is mystical and symbolic, as in the writer who writes her. Who are we talking about? Of course, about Daria Vsevolodovna Simonova. Who is this woman, where is she from and how did she find herself in the horizon of our literature? We will try to open the veil over this mystery in our article.
Childhood
Very little is known about Dasha’s childhood. To begin with, the future writer was born under the name Okulova. A young talent was born on November 3, 1972 in the city of Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg). Although many of Russia's talents live in the capital of our country, they are born, as a rule, somewhere in the periphery. Yekaterinburg, of course, can hardly be called a small provincial town, especially for those who have been there at least once, but still it is not Moscow.
Daria Simonova studied at school No. 110. As she studied, history is silent, but it is known for certain that Dasha was accepted as a young correspondent in the newspapers “Shift” and “Evening Sverdlovsk,” which means a lot. As you know, who got into such newspapers was not taken by correspondents. In addition, the junior must have excellent knowledge of spelling and grammar, and our language is great and powerful, it can sometimes be difficult to overcome. Based on these "indirect evidence" we can conclude that Dasha studied well. As you can see, by the end of school, the girl had already firmly decided on her vocation. In 1989, Daria Okulova received her secondary education.
Student
In the same year, Daria Simonova entered the Ural University at the Faculty of Journalism. Apparently, she successfully completes the first course, because she gets to practice not somewhere, but in Leningrad (St. Petersburg).
And here her works were noted and appreciated. The editors of the large-circulation newspaper "Labor Banner" praised her work. All of her materials have been published. The editor noted "courage of judgments, a serious approach to facts, an original and lively style of their presentation." With such wonderful reviews and recommendations, Dasha Okulova returns to study further in Sverdlovsk.
Correspondent
However, having finished her senior courses, Daria Simonova decides to devote herself entirely to journalism. She writes a letter of transfer to the correspondence department and leaves to work in St. Petersburg. Here she writes articles for the newspapers Nevsky Courier, Delovoye Obozreniye, Natalie and Savva. Her materials were also published in the newspapers Mariinsky Theater, Nevsky Vremya and many others. Articles by Daria Vsevolodovna Okulova enjoyed some success, due to its reliability, beauty and simplicity of presentation. During downtime in correspondent activities, Dasha had the opportunity to work as a postman, as a cleaning lady, and as a poster. But in the life of every writer, one day there comes such a turning point, when the real world suddenly becomes too cramped for your thoughts and feelings. I want to expand the boundaries and add something of my own.
Writer
Such a moment has come for Dasha. Perhaps she decided that journalism does not provide an opportunity to properly reveal herself, to throw out all her thoughts and feelings. Be that as it may, in 1994, after graduating from university, Okulova decided to leave journalism and devote herself completely to literature. In 1996, the first two stories were published in the 3rd issue of the Ural magazine: “Easy” and “Continuation”. Already in the next year, 1997, the story "Shusha" was published in the same magazine. In the work, the author’s surname is still listed as Okulova, but in the same year in the New World magazine her story “Sweet smell of second hands” was published under the name Daria Simonova. The writer is becoming famous. Further, all other works will be released under a new surname.
Moscow
In 1995, Daria Vsevolodovna Simonova moved to Moscow. She worked in the family company "Arts and Crafts". Then I had to work as a proofreader at Pechatny Dvor. In 1998, she took part in the Festival of Small Prose, dedicated to the 180th anniversary of the birth of Turgenev. In 2000, the New Literary Review Moscow publishing house published a collection devoted entirely to this festival. It included short parables presented by Daria Simonova. Further, in 2003, there was a job as an editor in the magazine "I buy." In any case, after moving to the capital, her works begin to be published in many Moscow publications, such as the Babylon bulletin of young literature and many others.
Zero years were quite fruitful for the writer. In 2001, in the 2nd issue of the international literary magazine Khreshchatyk, her story “The Phantom of the scenery” was published.
Further, in 2002, an anthology of prose in 2 volumes “Vagriuz Prose 1992-2002” was published in Moscow. This included the story of Daria Simonova “Polovtsian Dances”.
In the same year her first book is published.
Polovtsian Dances
The book, published by the Vagriuz Publishing House, easily took possession of the minds and hearts of readers, and became insanely popular among fans of the genre. A brief annotation to the book revealed its theme and orientation. The works that fall into this collection are read as one whole story about the lives of young people who have their own set of rules, language, value system and their own wisdom, often contradictory. For example: life is too important a thing to take it seriously, and therefore whoever has lost something is always a winner, even if nothing goes well, if relatives do not understand. So they live, whether it’s an inconceivable carnival, or an eternal carousel of being. And it becomes unclear where this thin line between farce and real drama is. "Polovtsian Dances" - what can I say!
What else can I add? Only that the book is easy to read and in one breath is written about ordinary people and for ordinary people.
A few years after this, Centerpolygraph publishes two more books by Daria Simonova: Narrow Gates (2007) and Swingers (2008). I would especially like to note the first.
Narrow Gates
The novel, based on real events, is about a young ballerina who is painfully experiencing how her mother once gave her to an orphanage. Even becoming a famous ballet star, she cannot forget this pain. A talented teacher helps her create wonderful images on stage. But all this is transitory. And the pain comes back again and again, through betrayal of loved ones, through backstage envy, through loneliness.
Epilogue
The heroes of our writer are people of free professions or generally incomprehensible occupations. They lead a life that can be called rather ephemeral. For the writer, what is happening to their inner world in the process of developing the plot is important.
Daria Simonova, whose books are read in one breath, is actively trying herself in other genres. She is the author of several historical and literary genealogical publications.
Also in 2011, the detective novel Fifteenth Stone, written together with Elena Strinadkina, was released.
Books of Daria Simonova:
- "Polovtsian Dances".
- D. Simonova, E. Strinadkina - “The Fifteenth Stone”.
- "Swingers" (another name is "Pheromones of Montferrand").
- Narrow Gates.
- "Chancre".
- "Ping pong is alive."