Work: English Coursebook

Elena turned the page. The exercises were blank. But at the very bottom, in shaky letters, Nonna had written a final note:

Elena had always seen the world in tidy compartments. For every problem, there was a solution; for every question, an answer in the back of the book. Life, she believed, was a multiple-choice exam. Then her grandmother, Nonna, died, leaving her a worn-out English coursebook from 1982. english coursebook

“She used it when she first immigrated,” her mother said. “She couldn’t speak a word. She learned from this book.” Elena turned the page