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It’s like a dog that’s forever weaving around our legs, but whose presence we only notice the day it bites us. At first, I found the recitation of the dead at the cemetery where Violette works, their names and years of their lifespans a little jarring. I have just finished reading Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin, translated from the French by Hildegarde Serle and I wish I had the time to start reading it all over again.

That voice—wry, incisive, self-aware, equal parts droll and melancholy—belongs to Violette Toussaint, who narrates most of Fresh Water for Flowers. A deeply evocative book, almost unbearably sad at times and slow to start with, I came to love it as I was swept up in Violette's tale. Anche se a qualche svolta lo scenario proposto non è dei più plausibili, la mia sospensione dell'incredulità non è mai venuta meno). Every chapter begins with what I saw as epigraphs, but which are referred to in the discussion questions at the end of the novel as “epitaphs,” which surprised me and then made perfect sense, even though many of them are not quite the kind of thing you’d actually carve on a tombstone.Fresh Water for Flowers is Valérie Perrin’s English debut and is one that is sure to place her name on the tongue of many. Sasha, the previous cemetery caretaker, guides Violette and provides Violette with sage wisdom at critical times in her life.

If you're after a book with a difference, one to make you think and simply be transported away for a few hours, then Fresh Water For Flowers really is worth the read. This is a beautiful literary novel and the translation from French by Hildegarde Serle seems superb.

Un romanzo che emoziona perché la vita è protagonista assoluta, a maggior ragione nel luogo dove si celebra il lutto. She opens the gates in the morning and closes them in the evening; attends the interments and transcribes the eulogies into her journal; offers refreshments to - and chats with - the people who come to visit their loved ones; grows and sells flowers; takes care of graves when family members are away; looks after pets who arrive with their deceased owners and never leave; deals with teenagers who sneak into the cemetery at night (this is a hoot! Fresh Water for Flowers is littered with an outstanding cast of characters all very much brought to life through the words of Valérie Perrin. Son premier roman, "Les oubliés du dimanche" (2015), a reçu de nombreux prix, dont celui de Lire Élire 2016 et de Poulet-Malassis 2016.