Fresh Water For Flowers by Valerie Perrin

Fresh Water For Flowers by Valerie Perrin, a best selling novel in France, was recently translated into English, and over thirty other languages. The cover is appealing and the blurb on the back does not give away too much of the story.

This is a lengthy novel, comprised of short chapters. Each headed by a few wise words and revealing a little more of the story of the life of Violette Toussaint. We read about her childhood and her early marriage and the birth of a child.

Violette and her husband, Philippe, are crossing guards. Raising and lowering the barrier when trains pass through the town where they live. She works and he rides around the countryside on his motorcycle. We read about Philippe’s childhood as well, about his parents and their expectations. About his love for another woman and his pursuit of many.

There is a tragedy at the centre of this novel that will become the focus of the lives of Violette and Philippe. When the train barriers in France are automated Violette and Philippe move on to another government job – caretakers of a cemetery. Once again it is Violette who does the work while Philippe rides his motorbike. Violette comes to know well the others who work in the cemetery, the undertakers and grave diggers. She records the deaths, and assists the bereaved family members. Her position as caretaker makes fascinating reading.

Violette’s life becomes one of caring for others – including the dead. She provides tea or a stronger drink as necessary for those who come to talk of their loved ones. She is as much a fixture of the cemetery as the graves of the dead.

There is no doubt that this is a sad novel – there is bereavement and mourning – but it is a book you do not want to lay aside for more than a moment. Woven into the story of loss are two mysteries. One is the cause of the deaths of four children – an accident – or not. The other is the wish of a woman to be buried with a man who was not her husband. Both had prepared legal papers to make this plan one that would be followed upon their deaths. These stories are followed to the conclusion of the novel, when all is revealed.