“You must learn to be generous with your absence to those who havent understood the importance of your presence.”
Summary - This tale evolves around a small graveyard in a small French town, Bourgogne. We meet an array of interesting, nuanced characters, including our main protagonist, Violette. The story of Violettes life is slowly revealed to us through her own words or through the interconnectedness with the lives of other people: Violettes difficult childhood, being born with nothing, her tragic marriage to Philippe, her daughter, her life working as a bartender, then as a level crossing keeper and finally her life as a cemetery caretaker.
This book was seriously about so much - love, grief, loneliness, relationships, so much about the beauty and the difficulties of life. Aside from some of the perspective shifts that felt jarring on audio it really was a beautifully told story and what better time to read it than in Women in Translation month
Have you read anything for Women in Translation month? I definitely want to check out this author’s other book Three now!
Thank you @katie for reading this with me, I had no idea I would need so much emotional support reading it!
Find Fresh Water for Flowers at the publisher →
Toni Rocchetti is a copy editor helping authors strengthen their narratives, deepen character arcs, and find the story that is already in the draft. She reads 80+ books a year across literary fiction, memoir, and nonfiction — and writes about what she is learning along the way. Work with Toni →
