"Beautifully translated and edited.... Provides a harrowing portrait of a marriage.... [The] diaries, so rich in acute psychological awareness and observation, should be read for themselves, not just as a social document or biographical resource. They are infuriating, heartbreaking, unputdownable." – Michael Dirda, Washington Post
"The hundreds of pages offered by Porter in this selection are testament to a great spirit, a woman who lived in terrifying proximity to one of the greatest writers of all time, and who understood exactly the high price she would have to pay for this privilege." – Jay Parini
"Hauntingly revealing and gorgeously sad, these entries reveal a wife's desperate love and estrangement from her brilliant but complex and troubled husband." – Kirkus Reviews
"How she remained married to the beyond difficult Tolstoy for close on half a century remains one of life's great mysteries, and Sofia's diaries provide rich, at times peevish, but invariably vivid insights to the Russia of her lifetime." – Irish Times (Best Non-fiction Citation)
"It is simplistic to see Sofia as the victim of her husband's genius. Her diaries show that she was a formidable storyteller in her own right." – London Times