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WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE SUMMER
INDIES INTRODUCE & INDIE NEXT LIST PICK
An eccentric young caretaker brings exuberant life to a small-town French cemetery in this “enchanting” #1 bestselling novel (Publishers Weekly).
Violette Toussaint’s life follows a gentle, predictable rhythm. As caretaker of a cemetery in rural Burgundy, she spends her days cycling the grounds, tending her gardens, and listening to the intimate, sometimes humorous confidences of mourners and visitors alike. Until Julien Sole, the local police chief, arrives with an unusual request that will change her life forever.
Julien has come to scatter his mother’s ashes on the grave of a complete stranger. As Violette helps him unravel the mystery behind his mother’s final wish, it becomes clear that the answer is deeply entwined with Violette’s own complicated past.
“A beautiful, intensely atmospheric bittersweet dream of a book.”—Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library and The Midnight Train
“Melancholic and yet ebullient... An appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships.”—Guardian
“It’s very healing... I haven’t read a more beautifully written book for a long time.”—Sarah Harden, Wall Street Journal
“Full of contentment and hope... Fans of Elizabeth Berg will enjoy this thoughtful take on the inner life of an unforgettable woman.”—Booklist
“A glorious read. Touching, thought provoking, taut: a tribute to our power to heal.”—OCinsite.com
★ “Exuberant.”—ForeWord Reviews (Starred Review)
“Colorful and highly enjoyable.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Enchanting.”—Publishers Weekly
“Romantic, yes; light, yes; meaningless, no.”—Bethanne Patrick, Literary Hub
“Perrin plumbs the depths of motherhood, life on the streets, and regret in her story... An extremely well-written book that was frankly difficult to put down.”—San Francisco Book Review
“A saga of a woman’s life from nothing to something…A story representative of many girls and women trapped by social and financial circumstances.”—The Winnipeg Free Press
“Readers will be swept away by the poetic gentleness of the narration, by the generous gaze that the two protagonists cast over human affairs, by the desire for peace felt by both Julian and Violette.”—La Croix
“Breathtaking.”—Unidivers
Valérie Perrin was born in 1967 in Remiremont, in the Vosges Mountains, France. She grew up in Burgundy and settled in Paris in 1986. Her novel The Forgotten Sunday (2015) won the Booksellers Choice Award and the paperback edition has been long-selling best-seller since publication. Her English-language debut, Fresh Water for Flowers (Europa, 2020) won the Maison de la Presse Prize, the Paperback Readers Prize, and was named a 2020 ABA Indies Introduce and Indie Next List title. It has been translated into over thirty languages. Figaro Littéraire named Perrin one of the ten best-selling authors in France in 2019, and in Italy, Fresh Water for Flowers was the best selling book of 2020. Perrin now lives in Normandy