During a difficult period in her life, The Telegraph journalist and professional comedian Viv Groskop found not only solace but also soul-searching advice in the great Russian novels, which helped her get out of a difficult situation—and she decided to write about this experience.

In 'Self-Development According to Tolstoy,' she uses her own example and the fates of Russian classics to show that even the most difficult situation can be resolved with the help of literature: 'Anna Karenina' eases an identity crisis, Turgenev's play 'A Month in the Country' helps one survive unhappy love, and 'The Master and Margarita' helps one cope with the most difficult circumstances. Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anna Akhmatova, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, and others in Groskop's book aren't bronze monuments, but living people who also suffered and doubted, were overwhelmed by thousands of passions, yet they managed to maintain their dignity and remain themselves.

'Self-Development According to Tolstoy' is an engaging attempt to take a detached look at stories familiar to every Russian-speaking reader from school, and to understand why we love the words 'soul' and 'fate' so much.