Fresh Water for Flowers

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Valérie Perrin: Fresh Water for Flowers (2020, Europa Editions, Incorporated)

English language

Published Sept. 24, 2020 by Europa Editions, Incorporated.

ISBN:
978-1-60945-596-5
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2 stars (1 review)

5 editions

Starts off so well but completely falls apart in the middle

2 stars

I had high expectations for this book at the beginning. It starts off as a beatiful story of a cementary keeper, Violette, living in a small house in the French countryside, tending to graves, plants in the garden, selling flowers to visitors and quietly but thoroughly observing the funerals and people attending them. We slowly learn about the backstory of Violette and the lives of people surrounding her - gravediggers, the priest, morticians etc. - it's beautiful, well-paced and very often moving.

However, at some point we learn about a tragedy in Violette's past and from then on things really start going downhill. We no longer only get the perspective of Violette now and Violette in the past, but of so many different random characters she encountered in her life. Be ready to keep notes of the dates and character's names because I really coudn't at one point. What's more, …