Pavel Pepperstein
At the age of thirteen, Pavel Pepperstein (then still Pavel Pivovarov) read Thomas Mann’s novel The Magic Mountain. He was enchanted by this novel, imbued, in Thomas Mann’s own words, with “hermetic pedagogy”. One of its characters, Peter Peeperkorn, inspired the young reader to invent a pseudonym — Pepperstein. From that time on, while remaining Pavel Pivovarov in everyday life, our protagonist began to appear in the realms of art and literature as Pavel Pepperstein.
