A truly captivating read! I thoroughly enjoyed this character-driven book with intertwining plot lines. An intriguing tale with both funny and moving parts.

'Fresh Water for Flowers' is a lovely book, filled with flawed characters, words unsaid, things undone and actions regretted. It's translated from French, and it couldn't be anything but a French book. It's what my late grandmother would have called 'all style and not a lot of substance'. That's not necessarily a bad thing although I do think it's WAY TOO LONG. This is probably the longest it has taken me to complete a book all year.

Personally, I would have removed the whole sub-plot about the boyfriend's mother and her affair with the lawyer. For me, it added nothing substantial to the story, and dragged it out to be a very long story.

Set in a picturesque French village (which will do wonders for anyone longing for the continent) this book follows Violette Toussaint, a young woman who was a level-crossing keeper, and is now a cemetery caretaker, and who “savors life” – sipping at it like “jasmine tea sweetened with honey”. Though her graveyard is ever-present it’s a far from sinister setting: as anyone who spent lockdown walking through Mill Road Cemetery will be well aware, these resting places can be truly peaceful and filled with life, if only you know where to look.

As we learn more about Violette, and the circumstances which led to her unusual career choices, other stories start to weave between hers like different instruments playing an ensemble piece. This book is exquisitely composed and utterly devastating in places, packed with meaningful meditations on life, death and love, and may leave you longing to adopt some of Violette’s considered routines – while also hoping to avoid the heartbreak which led her to this more thoughtful way of life. Packed with references to literature and music (you may find yourself switching between the book and your streaming service of choice to listen to mentioned songs), it’s the meals which linger in my mind: Violette’s summer “salads of multicoloured tomatoes, a few cheeses and a large baguette” shared with other members of the caretaking team or the local priest in her cottage’s garden.

This is not Perrin’s first novel but is her English-language debut, and has collected an array of completely deserved awards: translated into over thirty languages, it became the best selling book in Italy in 2020, which should be more than enough nudges to place this right at the top of your wishlist.

Featured in the July issue of Cambridge Edition Magazine – https://online.bright-publishing.com/view/391014321/29/

My main takeaway from this book is that it is startling how multitudes of unethical acts can be woven together into such a beautifully written story. It was poetic and heartbreaking and humorous and uplifting. The grief in this book is profound and yet learning to live again after tragedy is such a strong feature.

Violette Toussaint is an orphan whose entire life has been difficult, culminating in a devastating marriage. She is now a cemetery caretaker in Bourgogne whose home is always open to strangers (the grieving) and regulars (the gravediggers, groundskeepers and cemetery priest).

Her comfortable routine is disturbed one day by the appearance of Julian Seul, a local police chief who has come to leave the ashes of his mother at the grave of a stranger. It is soon revealed that the gravesite belongs to his mother's lover, a love story that overlaps with and illuminates Violette's own hidden past.

The poetic nature of this novel is captured by Violette's dedication in tending to the cemetery, and particularly her own garden; the desire to cultivate life in the midst of so much death.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction. My warning would be to have a tissue ready!

Conveyed With Empathy….
A moving tale of life, love, loss, grief and humanity which is beautifully and poetically conveyed with empathy and deftly laced with gentle wit. An emotional read which is perfectly translated from the original French. Both engaging and compelling.

For me, this novel lacks momentum and depth. I am not convinced that the content justifies the length of almost 500 pages.

The main storyline talks about a cemetery keeper called Violette Trenet. Abandoned at birth, she grew up with little except a tenacious will to find happiness in life. The story follows her through childhood, adolescence, wifehood and motherhood, showing the reader how she coped with loss and grieving before eventually finding peace. The characterisation is solid, but the bland and yet melodramatic narrative isn’t exactly moving.

A bigger problem is that a disproportionately large chunk of the novel is dedicated to the love affair between Irène and Gabriel, and it bears zero relevance to Violette’s story. I find it frustrating is how it romanticises and glorifies infidelity. There is no substance to their relationship, and I am not convinced that people who are so cruel towards their spouse (who they claim to care about) are capable of loving others.

Valerie Perrin's translated novel is a pitch perfect meditation on life, death, love, marriage, motherhood, tragedy, loss, grief, and learning to live after the worst has happened. Violette Touissant is the reclusive cemetery keeper at Brancon-en-Chalon, a position she acquired after years working as a level crossing keeper. Her husband, Philippe, has abandoned her, her daily life consists of a small circle of colleagues and friends that she provides coffee and food for, the 3 grave diggers, Nono, Gaston and Elvis, the Luccini brothers, the undertakers, and Father Cedric Duras. The cemetery is maintained in a immaculate condition, with Violette growing a bountiful variety of vegetables, selling flowers, cleaning tombs, chatting to the dead, keeping records of the funerals of the dead, looking after those who visit the cemetery and keeping detailed records of the dead and their funerals.

Being at the centre of the dead puts Violette at the heart of the local community, life and death go hand in hand. However, the life she has become accustomed to begins to be upturned when she gets an unexpected visitor, a police detective from Marseille, Julien Seul, has been shocked by his recently dead mother's wish to have her ashes placed on the grave of well known lawyer, Gabriel Prudent. He had no idea his mother knew him at all, and Violette helps him with the rituals and process of his task. The narrative goes back and forth in time, as Violette's past is slowly revealed, a foundling raised in care and with foster parents, her low self esteem, the details of her relationship with the faithless Philippe that petered into one of indifference and silence, learning to read late as an adult, the joy of acquiring her first female friend, Celia, surviving unbearable grief with the support of Sasha, and the return of feelings that she thought were beyond her. Interspersed are journal entries of Julien's mother, Irene Fayolle, and her illicit life long love affair with Gabriel.

It took me a litte while to become fully immersed in this heartbreaking and simultaneously life affirming story, but once I did, I was utterly entranced. My heart opened up to and embraced Violette, dealing with the challenging set of cards that life had dealt her, her compassion in her everyday life of trying to make life easier for the grieving, and the respect and reverence she extended to those beyond the grave. There is a complexity to all of the characters that make this such an unforgettable and rewarding experience, even Philippe has his own difficult family backstory and feelings of regrets that he cannot express. This is a beautifully written novel, emotionally affecting, and a pure delight to read. Highly recommended with bells on. Many thanks to Europa Editions for an ARC.

This is a beautiful book about love. The tale that is told is original and yet timeless. Love in all its various forms are explored through the world of Violette who becomes the keeper of a cemetery. Although death is a constant through the book, this is not by any means a morbid or sad book.Through the life of Violette and those around her, the story is told through the voices of people she knows and loves and those that enter her world within the cemetery. There is tragedy for Violette but the way by which Valerie Perrin leads us to Violette’s future is beautifully told and makes the reader reflect upon the value of all which is special to,us. There is a wonderful balance between the comical and tragic. This is a wonderful book which I will recommend and remember.

I usually have problems with French books. I don’t get their way of thinking, find the characters unrelatable. But I persevere with reading French literature. And this time, I am truly glad I did.

Violette Touissant is a village cemetery keeper, after having been a train crossing keeper. The cemetery is her life and vocation and care. She tends to the graves like she has never been tended herself - her being a foundling, an unloved wife, a grieving mother - she has found her calling. I cannot write anymore about the plotline without giving away some major spoilers, but rest assured there are plenty of gasp moments! Also keep a box of hankies at the ready.

This book is brimful with life, passion, death, joy, people, mourning, love - a multi-layered, deep, intense, clever, philosophical, heartfelt story. The translation from French is effortless. All senses are involved - and I learned about and looked up a lot of French music.

The characters are drawn with such a unique love for detail and you will be guided along the paths of Violette’s cemetery so well that you’d think you were there.

For me, easily the best book of 2021 - even though I’ve read quite a few excellent ones this year.