Groskop has discovered the meaning of life in Russian literature. As she knows from personal experience, everything that has ever happened has already happened in these novels: from not being sure what to do with your life (Anna Karenina) to being in love with someone who doesn't love you back enough (The Master and Margarita), or being socially anxious about your appearance (all of Chekhov's work). This is a literary self-help memoir, with examples from the author's own life that reflect the lessons of literature--only in a much less poetic way than Tolstoy probably intended.

Portrait

Viv Groskop is a journalist, author, cultural critic, and comedian. A graduate of Cambridge University and the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies, she is a regular contributor to The Guardian, The Observer, and the Mail on Sunday and has written for many other publications.