This is the 3051st most frequent Russian word.
знакомство
Acquaintance or introduction.
In this sentence, "знакомство" refers to the moment or instance of meeting someone for the first time and getting acquainted.
Наше знакомство произошло на вечеринке.
Our acquaintance happened at the party.
Here, "знакомство" is used to express the act or process of meeting and getting to know new people, emphasizing the general concept.
Знакомство с новыми людьми всегда интересно.
Meeting new people is always interesting.
In this context, "знакомство" is used figuratively to refer to an introduction or presentation of something, in this case the characters of the book.