Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin
In a little Bourgogne town, Violette Toussaint is in charge of looking after the cemetery. She is surrounded by her coworkers, three grave diggers, three groundskeepers, and a priest, who regularly share heartwarming and funny confidantes with her.
When police chief Julien Seul shows up one day to scatter his mother’s ashes on a stranger’s grave, Violette’s routine is interrupted. The story of his mother’s covert affair penetrates Violette’s impeccably erected defences to disclose the terrible death of her daughter and Violette’s steely determination to find out who is to blame, proving that Julien is not the only one who harbours a painful secret.
Fresh Water for Flowers pulls out the unique and the poetic in the commonplace through the hilarious, touching, and emotionally recounted tale of a lady who believes obstinately in happiness. A beautiful, evocative, and captivating story.
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin
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There is a cemetery in the town of Burgundy that is maintained by a woman. Violette is the woman who recognizes the melancholy in those who come to the location where she offers flowers, a wise word, a serene environment, and a wise word.
This book is primarily character-driven and focuses on the lives of a small group of people, including Violette, whose tragic story involves being abandoned as a newborn and ultimately becoming the caretaker of the cemetery.
This book follows Violette Toussaint, a young woman who was a level-crossing keeper and is now a cemetery caretaker. Violette “savours life,” sipping at it like “jasmine tea sweetened with honey,” and the setting in a picturesque French village (which will do wonders for anyone pining for the continent). Although her graveyard is always there, the environment is far from ominous; if you know where to look, you can find her resting places to be incredibly serene and alive.
Other stories begin to intertwine with Violette’s as we discover more about her and the events that led to her unique career choices, much like several instruments playing an ensemble piece. This beautifully written and occasionally heartbreaking book is full of profound reflections on life, death, and love. It may make you want to imitate some of Violette’s careful routines while also hoping to avoid the heartbreak that inspired her to choose this more contemplative way of life.
Despite the book’s abundance of literary and musical allusions (you may find yourself switching between the book and your preferred streaming service to listen to the songs mentioned), it’s Violette’s summertime “salads of multicoloured tomatoes, a few pieces of cheese, and a large baguette” shared in her cottage’s garden with the other members of the caretaking team or the local priest that stick in my mind.
