Valérie Perrin

A 2020 INDIES INTRODUCE PICK A POIGNANT RUNAWAY BESTSELLER full of French charm and memorable characters, Fresh Water for Flowers is Valérie Perrin's English debut. Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues--gravediggers, groundskeepers, and a priest--visit her to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee she offers them. Her life is lived to the rhythms of their funny, moving confidences. Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of Julien Sole--local police chief--who insists on scattering the ashes of his recently deceased mother on the gravesite of a complete stranger. It soon becomes clear that Julien's inexplicable gesture is intertwined with Violette's own difficult past. With Fresh Water for Flowers, Valérie Perrin has given readers an intimately told story that tugs on the heartstrings about a woman who believes obstinately in happiness, despite it all. A number one bestseller in France, Fresh Water for Flowers is a heartwarming and tender story that will stay will readers for years after the final page is turned. "Breathtaking."--Unidivers "Thundering applause. And, believe us, the word 'thunder' is not too strong."--La Marseillaise

Fresh Water for Flowers

Mariana

Took me such a long time to finish, but I'm so glad I did.

This book would break my soul if it weren't already. I don't have the words to describe it. 
The only aspect I didn't enjoy as much was the excessive infidelity. And I mean LOTS of it.

Valerie Perrin

A number 1 international bestseller, over 1 million copies sold worldwide.

Julie Rubens

I liked this book a lot. It was very interesting and well written.

Inkmelt

Andrew John Kinney

As my friend Lori has pointed out in her review, there is so much going on in this book that it is important to avoid spoilers while writing a review. But without giving anything away, I loved how most of Valerie Perrin's characters moved constantly in the direction of goodness, of kindness as the book went on. Even those the reader would not suspect could trend in that direction. Valerie Perrin's descriptive prose, the plot, the twists; AND a wonderful description of mature love (and immature love, for that matter), make this book a joy to read. This is emphatically not a "chick book"; it is simply a well-written story, with wonderful descriptions of France, and interesting cultural references that had me doing side research on Camille Claudel's work and songs by Charles Trenet, among other things. The gentleness of people shines through; I am strongly reminded of my working relationships with French colleagues in the 1990's and early 2000's when I had the good fortune to travel repeatedly to Bordeaux on business. They were people who worked hard, but who knew how to have a good time, and knew how to live.

The prose here is beautiful and heartfelt. There is a tenderness that is not cloying or sentimental. I was sorry when the book ended, and I would direct you to Lori's review for a better introduction to this book than I can offer, but Fresh Water for Flowers is well worth your time. It is without doubt the best novel I've read in a year, at least.

charisa

and so continues my jaunt through contemporary, female-penned european literature! i’m in awe of serle’s interlingual prowess; of course i can’t speak to the original french, but perrin’s prose comes off as fluid and lightweight, with figures of speech carefully carved out in english. (i’m always secretly embittered by a good work of translated fiction, because where are the solid KR to ENG translations? why do romance language translations often retain a more robust level of nuance??? aNYway) 

story-wise, i found the execution somewhat middling. there’s a singular plot thread woven throughout the story’s entirety, branching off into small reflective vignettes on what death and grief do to those left behind. the story also careens into the past and lurches back into the present repeatedly with little warning, which could work at a smaller scale, but disorients when haphazardly cycled for nearly 500 pages. 

it’s a pity, since at the high level, this work is lush and full of compassion, even redemption. i was enraptured by violette’s introspective life, her deference towards the dead, the peculiar characters that make up the graveyard’s little subculture: nono, gaston, elvis, father cédric. even the backstory, clunky as it is, carries a very human weight to it, exploring motherhood, attachment, and grief with a measured kind of sensitivity.

Shreya Punj

A beautiful novel that is guaranteed to make you feel every emotion known to humankind. It’s nuanced, beautifully written and so subtle in it its portrayal of love, grief and loss that you won’t even realise when you begin to cry, and when you begin to smile.

Fran Lewis

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin

This is a very moving story about the life of a woman who works and lives in a cemetery. It is full of romances, bad marriages and grief. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it.

Raissa Bonin

Francisca Moe

Giulia 

Joana Sá 

Barbara

A bestseller in France, Fresh Water for Flowers is a delightful, atmospheric, absorbing fairy tale full of poetry, generosity and warmth.

Jacqueline Englund

Jess

A 2020 INDIES INTRODUCE AND INDIE NEXT LIST PICK A number 1 best-seller in France and in Italy, where it was dubbed Italy's favorite "lockdown novel," Fresh Water for Flowers is an intimately told story about a woman who definitely believes in happiness, despite it all. Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Her life is lived to the predictable rhythms of the often funny, always moving confidences that casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues share with her. Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of Julien Sole--local police chief--who has come to scatter the ashes of his recently deceased mother on the gravesite of a complete stranger. It soon becomes clear that Julien's inexplicable gesture is intertwined with Violette's own complicated past. "Melancholic and yet ebullient...An appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships."--The Guardian

Fresh Water for Flowers

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