Valentin Rasputin is a classic of Russian and world literature, a contemporary of ours. He formulates his life stance as follows: '...to defend conscience, faith, and beauty.'

The stories 'Mama Went Somewhere,' 'French Lessons,' and 'Live and Love,' which are included in this book, tell the story of three heroes, boys of different ages, who find themselves in difficult life situations. What lessons will they learn?

All works in the 'Reading is the Best Learning' series are published in full, without abbreviations or adaptations.