The artistic thought of Sergei Dovlatov, despite the apparent paradox, justified by life experience, is simple and noble: to tell how strangely people live - sometimes laughing sadly, sometimes laughing funnyly. There are no righteous people in his books, because there are no villains in them either. The writer knows: both heaven and hell are within ourselves. In Russia, Dovlatov is one of the most consistently read authors. His prose has been dramatized, filmed, studied in schools and universities, and translated into major European and Japanese languages. “Solo on Underwood” and “Solo on IBM” are the basis of Dovlatov’s creativity. A collection of funny and sad phrases, situations, images, seen, heard, and noted by the writer at different times. Reading this book, you enter Dovlatov's workshop. And for this reason, perhaps, it is more valuable than his other, most famous works.