An autobiographical novel-memoir about Petersburg youth “Features from the Life of Pepko” (1894). One of the best books by Mamin-Sibiryak, describing Mamin’s first steps in literature, episodes of acute need, and moments of deep despair. It vividly outlines the writer’s worldview, the dogmas of his faith, and the views and ideas that became the foundation of his best works: deep altruism, rejection of brute force, love of life and, at the same time, longing for its imperfections—“a sea of sadness and tears,” where there are so many horrors, cruelties, and untruths. “Is it possible to be satisfied with only one’s own life? No—living a thousand lives, suffering and rejoicing with a thousand hearts is where life and true happiness are!” Mamin says in “Features from the Life of Pepko.”