This reader presents the story 'Uroki frantsuzskovo', written by the famous modern writer Valentin Rasputin. This is the story of an 11 year old boy's difficult childhood. He went to school far from home and therefore lived with strangers. The French teacher wanted to help him and they became friends. But there isn't a happy ending...

The text has been adapted for learners of Russian at A2 level and the reader contains commentaries on the text, exercises to check understanding and interesting facts about Rasputin's life.