The Eternal Engine of Madness

Daria Dontsova is the most popular and sought-after author in our country, a favorite of millions of readers. Over 200 million copies of her books have been sold in Russia. Her work fills hearts and souls with light, optimism, joy, and confidence in the future! The most dangerous profession is a writer! What did you think? A certain woman of disheveled appearance bursts into the office of Viola Tarakanova's husband, throws a brochure almost in his face, and shouts in foul language. It is clear that Viola, like every somewhat well-known writer, has her own personal schizophrenic. But the visitor turned out to be her classmate Lyubka Gaskonina! And she claims that Vika envied her back in school and therefore wrote a little book that described various family secrets and vices of Lyubka and her mother—a retired ballerina—vividly. Viola declared that she would never write such rubbish—it’s not the genre or format. Nevertheless, Vika's husband, Stepan Dmitriev, felt it was his duty to defend his wife's honor—and step by step began to delve into the family disputes of the Gaskonins. Oh, if only he knew how much madness was hidden in these thickets and who its eternal engine was! “Dontsova is an incredible hard worker! I don’t know any other writer who works as much as she does. I have great respect for her as a model of literary diligence. Women need psychological support and receive it from Dontsova. I myself read several of Dontsova's novels in my time. Very different people read her. Very busy business ladies, to switch off their minds for a while, and housewives who have a 15-20 minute break between dropping off and picking up children.” — Galina Yuzefovich, literary critic