July 26: Nikolai Nosov, author of "Dunno," passed away
On July 26, 1976, children's writer Nikolai Nosov passed away. He was the author of "The Merry Family," "The Living Hat," "Vitya Maleev," the Dunno trilogy, and the touching autobiographical story "The Secret at the Bottom of the Well."
The hero of my stories is myself
Childhood in Kyiv and Irpen
Nosov was born in 1908 in Kyiv and spent his childhood in Irpen. He adored his father, a pop artist, and when he went on tour, he yearned for him. One day, to make Sunday, the day he was to return, come sooner, he tore off five pages of a calendar at once. His mother scolded him, saying it didn't work that way, but his father suddenly returned early—and that's how Kolya learned the word "coincidence."
I see my father less often than my mother, so my feelings here, especially when we meet, are more intense... At the same time, the question of whom I love more seems wild, incomprehensible, stupid to me. Whom could I love more than my mother? Do I really love her? There is nothing with which my feelings for her could be compared. She is my beloved. I remember: I am already in bed. Mother is doing something, moving silently around the room... and my eyes are constantly following my mother. “Why aren’t you sleeping?” asks my mother. “I don’t feel like it yet,” I say. And of course I’m lying. I should say: “I’m terribly sleepy, but if I fall asleep, I won’t see my dear mother anymore. So I’m trying to look at you to my fill before sleep overcomes me.”
The first years were serene: Kolya grew up curious, capable – he learned to read at the age of 5, even earlier than his older brother – and very observant.
Ask any adult what happiness is, and you'll see how difficult it is for them to answer. I'm not an adult, but I can easily tell you that happiness is when our cat, Murka, gives birth to little kittens. Stretched out to her full length and turned on her side so the kittens can comfortably suckle, Murka lies under the porch on a pile of rags from which she's made a nest for them. Her eyes glow with happiness, I'd even say bliss... And if human happiness consists of seeing those you love happy, then I'm a very happy person.
War, typhus, and premature adulthood
The tranquility didn't last long: the father sold the family home—there wasn't enough money for his sons' schooling. Then World War I began, followed by the Civil War. There was no heat, electricity, or food. The entire family contracted typhus, Kolya the longest. When he recovered, his mother cried with joy that no one had died.
So I learned that you can cry not only from grief
From the age of 14, Nosov sold newspapers, dug trenches, and mowed grass. He graduated from a seven-year school, not a gymnasium, after which he worked in factories. At 19, he entered the Kiev Art Institute, and at 24, he got a job as a director at a Moscow film studio.
The Path to Children's Literature
Nosov entered children's literature in the 1930s: the magazine "Murzilka" became interested in the funny stories he told his son and his friends.
I realized that writing for children is the best job, it requires a lot of knowledge, and not only literary
The World of Dunno
In 1954, "The Adventures of Dunno and His Friends" was published. Later came "Dunno in Sunny City" and "Dunno on the Moon." Nosov imagined a universe inhabited by little people "no taller than a cucumber"—they have no parents, don't age, and believe that any problem can be solved.
Many people said that Dunno was completely clueless, but that's not true, because how could he possibly think? Of course, he didn't think very well, but he put his shoes on his feet, not his head—that also requires thinking.
While working on "Dunno on the Moon," Nosov prepared thoroughly, poring over Tsiolkovsky and Zhukovsky and physics textbooks. According to his grandson, Igor Nosov, this was palpable: physicists and engineers acknowledged the author's deep understanding of the subject.
When he started reading Dunno on the Moon, [my grandfather] would study Tsiolkovsky and Zhukovsky, physics textbooks, and I remember there were always dictionaries on the table. And I heard physicists and engineers say that you can tell when someone has delved deeply into the subject.
- grandson Igor Nosov
In "Dunno on the Moon," Nosov used a fairy-tale plot to demonstrate quite recognizable capitalist mechanisms:
The best way out of the current situation is to start selling salt even cheaper. Small factory owners will be forced to sell salt at too low a price, their factories will start operating at a loss, and they will be forced to close them. And then we'll raise the price of salt again, and no one will stop us from making money.
— "Dunno on the Moon"
Heritage
Nikolai Nosov left behind dozens of short stories, novellas, and novels. He died in his sleep on July 26, 1976, at the age of 67.
