This is my first book by Valerie Perrin and I look forward to reading more of her work. I discovered this author through Goodreads and the Women in Translation project which is celebrated in August.
The description for this book states Violette Sousaint is a caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in France. She lives on the grounds, opening the gates in the morning to receive visitors and funerals, caring for the flower and vegetable gardens, closing the gates at night.
I like the beginnings of each chapter with a the epitaphs:
His life was a lovely memory, His absence a silent agony.
We lived together in bliss, We rest together in peace.
They'll always be someone missing to make my life smile: you.
The epitaphs seem to "ward off the passage of time. Death begins when no one can dream of you any longer."
"There are more than a thousand photographs scattered across the cemetery. On the day all of those photos were taken, none of the men, women, childen could have thought that that moment would represent them for all eternity. It was the day of a birthday, a family meal, a walk in the park, at a wedding...."
Violette is a wonderful character. The chapters will abruptly switch to another timeline where you'll get more of her back story. She was thought dead when she was born, roused by a nurse yet unwanted by her mother. She went through life in foster care, hoping to be adopted and belong. She never was wanted by any family. When she became of age to work, pouring drinks at a local bar she met her husband. The stunningly gorgeous Phillipe Toussaint singled her out and took her home. He may have been a handsome devil but he is also a scoundral. Once they had a daughter it seemed Violette's life was whole as she had what she always wanted - a family.
The back stories are not only of Violette. The people interred have stories as well. The visitors to the graves sit with Violette and pour out their hearts. It's all entwined how a mourning lover still leaves flowers or tokens on a lover's tomb, only to swept away by the widow when she visits.
A turning point comes when a policeman named Julian Sole arrives to ask questions about Gabriel Prudent, a man his mother Irene wants to be buried with. This man Prudent is a stranger to him but through his mother's journals, Irene and Gabriel's story unfolds in future chapters.
The story about Violette's daughter will break your heart. As you read you'll find love, hope, sorrow and grief.
This book was touching, moving slowly but not boring, learning about so many people and their stories then wrapping it up with several revelations I never considered.
I'm looking forward to her next novel titled Three, also translated by Hildegarde Serle.
