Fresh Water For Flowers - Valerie Perrin

Fresh Water For Flowers by Valerie Perrin, my 17th of 2022 reminded me of Selina Michael who has been managing and supervising Thrikkakara Muncipality's crematorium for around  15 years now. Her mother passed away when she was 2 years old, father was handicapped,  she thought she would be happy after marriage,  but her husband turned out to be irresponsible and drunkard. She had two daughters but no means of income, and without much formal education,  she took up the work at crematorium.  She got handover from the previous supervisor who was a kind hearted person. It's a real life true story, she cremated three people dear to me.  

The story as much that of her alike, Violette Toussaint, an orphan, now a caretaker at a cemetery  in Bourgogne who married the first man she loved Philippe Toussaint and had a daughter named Leonine,  is also about her mentors and guide Shasha who ensures she is not complacent, gives her lessons  in gardening,  life and her job eventually leaves to Kerala, to walk across ganges , 'keep going until death' near his best friend  and years later comes Julien with his son Nathan who takes us through the story of his mother Irene Fayolle and Gabriel whose love story reminds us of Bridges of Madison Country.

It tells us :

Present life is a present  from heaven.

'Make up to each other! Apologize! Make peace with those we love before it's too late.'

Invisible thread links those who are destined to meet, that this thread can become tangled, but never break.

Death - The further back it goes, the less hold it has on the living. Time does for life. Time does for death. Death begin when no one can dream of you any longer. It's the greatest luxury  to be the owner of ones time, 

We never meet people by chance, They are destined to cross our paths for a reason. 

She did caretaker with her three gravedigger and the priest,  with cats around her. Her husband is a proof that men are men, irrespective of where they are .

Beautiful stories, layered , lyrical, with thought provoking  quotes at the beginning of each of the 94 chapters, short and sweet is one of the amazing books read.