Fresh Water for Flowers: OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE INTERNATIONAL No. 1 BESTSELLER “A beautiful, intensely atmospheric bittersweet dream of a book.” "Beautifully written and compelling to read.” “A tender and poignant exploration of love, loss, and redemption.” “A triumphant celebration of life and love.” “Breathtaking.” “A bad, bad, bad case of love at first read. This is a splendid, moving book.” “The balance between laughter and tears is spot on.” “Thundering applause. And, believe us, the word ‘thunder’ is not too strong.” “This is a novel set in a place of death, but Violette makes it a place of life, hope and memory.” “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." “An insightful novel, a book whose droll and endearing characters will bring you from tears to laughter.” “A million seller in its native France, Perrin’s novel sees the world through the eyes of Violette, a cemetery caretaker, and the people who pass through her care, living and dead, with their stories and secrets.” “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... place this right at the top of your wishlist.”

“Fresh Water For Flowers is a gentle meander through the loves, losses and rebirth of Violette Toussaint ... a very special gem of a book.”

*A NUMBER 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*

*Jane Garvey and Fi Glover''s book club pick*

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—three gravediggers, three groundskeepers, and a priest.

Violette’s routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of police chief Julien Seul, wishing to deposit his mother’s ashes on the gravesite of a complete stranger. Julien is not the only one to guard a painful secret: his mother’s story of clandestine love breaks through Violette’s carefully constructed defences to reveal the tragic loss of her daughter, and her steely determination to find out who is responsible.  

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.

“An appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships.”—The Guardian

What readers are saying:

“I''d read this book over and over again”
“One of those books that you don’t want to end”
“Absolutely amazing story”
“This is one of the BEST BOOKS EVER WRITTEN!”
“A really moving story of hope love and determination”
“this is one of the most life-affirming books I have read”

• | Author: Valerie Perrin, Hildegarde Serle
• | Publisher: Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
• | Publication Date: Jun 10, 2021
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language: eng
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781787703117
• | ISBN-10: 1787703118