Fresh Water for Flowers

An eccentric young caretaker brings exuberant life to a smalltown French cemetery in this #1 international bestselling novel: “Enchanting” (Publishers Weekly).

Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne, France. Traversing the grounds by unicycle, tending to her many gardens—and being present for the intimate, often humorous confidences of visitors—Violette’s life follows the predictable rhythms of mourning. But then Violette’s routine is disrupted by the arrival of Julien Sole, the local police chief.

Julien 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, UK