The Anna Karenina Fix

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Anna Karenina Fix written and read by Viv Groskop.


A literary self-help memoir about using the Russian Classics to find the answer to life's most important questions.

Viv Groskop has discovered the meaning of life in Russian literature. As she knows from personal experience, everything that has ever happened in life 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, and with an emphasis on being excessively paranoid about having an emerging moustache on your upper lip, just like Natasha in War and Peace.

Critics Review

Wonderfully entertaining, hilarious. Contains the distilled wisdom of some of the greatest writers who ever lived. Explored with dancing wit, affection and brilliance, this is a passionate, hilarious, joyful love letter to Russian literature.

Allison Pearson, Sunday Telegraph

Enchanting. Groskop falls in love with the literature, her impressive knowledge of which she conveys with a charmingly breezy tone

Observer

A beguiling tasting menu of some of the finest reading experiences of my life. Witty, likeable, and lighthearted, Viv Groskop invites us to embrace the work of these august Russian dead souls as belonging to us all

Lionel Shriver

Groskop has a knack of giving you just enough biography of the author, just enough tantalising kiss-and-tell detail from the works . . . A delightful primer and companion to all the authors you are ashamed to admit you haven’t read

The Times

What does Tolstoy have in common with Oprah Winfrey? What can Chekhov teach us about body image? In The Anna Karenina Fix, comedian Viv Groskop shows us how to use Russian literature as self-help, with hilarious and eye-opening results

Good Housekeeping

A wry literary memoir examining what we can learn from the great Russian novelists

Stylist

Funny and only second best to reading the stuff itself

Sara Wheeler, The Spectator

A highly knowledgeable jaunt through 150 years of literature

Observer

Absolutely hilarious

Jennifer Saunders on 'I Laughed, I Cried'

Brilliant

Jo Brand on 'I Laughed, I Cried'

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.