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*A NUMBER 1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER* A TLS' BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021:
"Beautifully written and compelling to read." "An appealing
indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all,
friendships."-The Guardian 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. 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"
Justine is 21 years old and has lived with her grandparents and cousin Jules since the death of her parents. She works as a carer at a retirement home and spends her days listening to her residents' stories.
After bonding with Helene, an almost 100-year-old resident, the two women slowly reveal their stories to one another. Whilst Justine helps Helene to relive her memories of love and war, Helene encourages Justine to confront the secrets of her own past, and the loss she has buried deep within.
One day, trouble arrives in the form of a mysterious phone call that shakes the retirement home to its core and uncovers a shocking revelation. At once humorous and melancholic, Valerie Perrin's debut novel is a story of how the past can shape our present, and the scars of undeclared love.
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