A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF SUMMER 2021
A 2020 INDIES INTRODUCE & INDIE NEXT LIST PICK
A #1 international best-seller, Fresh Water for Flowers is an intimately told story about a woman who defiantly 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
“It’s very healing... I haven’t read a more beautifully written book for a long time.”—Sarah Harden, CEO of Hello Sunshine, in the 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. Another must read.”—OCinsite.com
★ “Exuberant.”—ForeWord Reviews (Starred Review)
“Colorful and highly enjoyable.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Enchanting.”—Publishers Weekly
“A beautiful, intensely atmospheric bittersweet dream of a book.”—Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library
“Romantic, yes; light, yes; meaningless, no.”—Bethanne Patrick, Literary Hub
“Fresh Water for Flowers entranced me with its quiet joy.”—Kathi Kirby, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR
“Fresh Water For Flowers goes to show how debuts can be great works. Perrin plumbs the depths of motherhood, life on the streets, and regret in her story […] It is an extremely well-written book that was frankly difficult to put down…”—San Francisco Book Review
“Fresh Water for Flowers is a moving and lyrical portrait of one woman’s quest for happiness and love. A splendid work that will keep readers absorbed to the last page. A charming must-read.”—Lindsey Bartlett, formerly of Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore, Emporia, KS
“Fresh Water for Flowers is 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 (France)
“This book left me breathless and in tears!...A story of life with love, loss, yearning, sadness and all of the emotions that humans experience during their lifetimes.”—Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL
“Gorgeous.”—Cat Chapman, Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL
“One of those special books that defy description and make you glad it was written!”—Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, OR
“The only way I can describe this book is that it’s an epic…It is contemporary fiction, a murder mystery, a thriller, a tragedy, and a romance all rolled into one.”—Katie MacKendrick, librarian, Denver Public Library
“Reading [Fresh Water for Flowers] was truly a magical experience.”—Quentin Greif, Little City Books, Hoboken, NJ
“This story is simply beautiful. Fresh, fun, and so unique.”—Kappy Kling, HearthFire Books, Evergreen, CO
“Breathtaking.”—Unidivers (France)
“This may be my favorite book of 2020…A novel of astonishing humanity accomplished with an art so subtle it will take your breath away.”—Mary McDonald, Nicola’s Books, Ann Arbor, MI
About the Author
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
