Listen free for 30 days

  • Fresh Water for Flowers

  • Written by: Valérie Perrin
  • Narrated by: Sara Young
  • Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (43 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Fresh Water for Flowers cover art

Fresh Water for Flowers

Written by: Valérie Perrin
Narrated by: Sara Young
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $52.62

Buy Now for $52.62

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues - gravediggers, groundskeepers, and a priest - visit her to warm themselves in her lodge, where laughter, companionship, and occasional tears mix with the coffee she offers them. Her life is lived to the rhythms of their funny, moving confidences.

But her routine is disrupted by the arrival of the local police chief, who insists on scattering the ashes of his recently deceased mother on the gravesite of a complete stranger. Soon it becomes clear that his inexplicable gesture is intertwined with Violette’s own difficult past.

With Fresh Water for Flowers, Valérie Perrin has given listeners an intimately told story that tugs on the heartstrings about a woman who believes obstinately in happiness, despite it all. A number-one best seller in France, it is a heartwarming and tender story that will stay with listeners long after they finish it.

©2020 Valérie Perrin (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

What listeners say about Fresh Water for Flowers

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Probably better read in its original French. Poor choice of narrator

The story was good in the end but I struggled with the first part which seemed disjointed and lacked flow. I think that it suffered in translation and I had a really hard time with the narrator who, reading a story that takes place in France, with French names & occasional phrases, couldn’t pronounce the most basic words correctly! I’m not bilingual but I learned how to pronounce ‘Monsieur’ in Grade school!! I found it very distracting and had to buy the book in order to finish it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Poor narration spoiled a good story

Interesting story, characters and setting; Francophone narrator who could do voices would have added greatly to the listeners’ enjoyment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Accent not right for the telling

Lovely story but a reader/performer with a better understanding of French: even as it is understood by anglophones would have made it better. The incorrect pronunciations of many common French to English words was off putting…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Lovely story. Narrator not so much.

I enjoyed the story but it would have been so much better if read by someone who know the French language and accent. Also a more mature voice would have worked nicely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written

I loved the story! It was sad and yet beautiful! The author pivoted along the timeline keeping me engaged and constantly trying to figure the story! The simple style of writing and the imagery was well done!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story

There was very interesting characters in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed listening. The reader’s French pronunciation was lacking.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, poor listening experience

I loved the book, but am very disappointed by the reader. It seems no one bothered going through the pronunciation of French names with her so she thoroughly butchered them throughout the book. In her reading, "Toussaint" rhymed with the English pronunciation of "Croissant", sigh. A very frustrating experience.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Story of Resilience

This book is a wonderfully crafted account of complex characters and relationships over the life of the protagonist Violette. From her beginning she is bereft of family yet she develops beneficial relationships and learns to cope with tragic circumstances and experience a modicum of happiness

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

a book about grief and toxic love

Long, flowery prose. For the first third of the book I wasn't sure what the book was about. Hang in there, it gets pretty good, but not amazing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!