Awards

• Winner of Prix Maison de la Presse 2018 (France)

Overview

A poignant bestselling novel full of French charm and memorable characters. Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Her daily life is lived to the rhythms of the hilarious and touching confidences of random visitors and her colleagues. Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of a local police chief, Julien Seul, who insists on depositing the ashes of his mother on the gravesite of a complete stranger. The grave Julien is looking for, and his mother's story of clandestine love, is intertwined with Violette's own secret past. The funny, moving, intimately told story of a woman who believes obstinately in happiness, Fresh Water for Flowers brings out the exceptional and the poetic in the ordinary. A delightful, atmospheric, absorbing tale.

Full Product Details

9781787703117

Table of Contents

Reviews

'An insightful novel, a book whose droll and endearing characters will bring you from tears to laughter.' - Michel Bussi

Valerie Perrin's delightful Fresh Water for Flowers is a funny and moving story of one woman's belief that everything will turn out right. The story fluctuates between extremes with stylish elegance. It is melancholic and yet ebullient...What may on the surface of it appear gloomy and morose, in Perrin's hands is an appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships. * The Guardian * A tender and poignant exploration of love, loss, and redemption. A triumphant celebration of life and love. Breathtaking. * Unidivers * A bad, bad, bad case of love at first read. This is a splendid, moving book. * C'est au programma * An insightful novel, a book whose droll and endearing characters will bring you from tears to laughter. -- Michel Bussi The balance between laughter and tears is spot on. * Lire * Thundering applause. And, believe us, the word 'thunder' is not too strong. * La Marseillese *

A beautiful, intensely atmospheric bittersweet dream of a book. -- Matt Haig Valerie Perrin's delightful Fresh Water for Flowers is a funny and moving story of one woman's belief that everything will turn out right. * Stylist * The story fluctuates between extremes with stylish elegance. It is melancholic and yet ebullient...What may on the surface of it appear gloomy and morose, in Perrin's hands is an appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships. * The Guardian * A tender and poignant exploration of love, loss, and redemption. * Publishers Weekly * A triumphant celebration of life and love. * ForeWord Reviews * Breathtaking. * Unidivers * A bad, bad, bad case of love at first read. This is a splendid, moving book. * C'est au programma * An insightful novel, a book whose droll and endearing characters will bring you from tears to laughter. -- Michel Bussi The balance between laughter and tears is spot on. * Lire * Thundering applause. And, believe us, the word 'thunder' is not too strong. * La Marseillese *

Author Information

Valerie Perrin is a photographer and screenwriter who works with Claude Lelouch. Her first novel, Les Oublies du Dimanche, won numerous prizes including the 2016 Lire Elire and Poulet-Malassis. Hildegarde Serle graduated in French from Oxford University. After working as a newspaper subeditor in London for many years, she obtained the Chartered Institute of Linguists Diploma in Translation. She is the translator of A Winter's Promise and The Missing of Clairdelune.

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