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Justine is 21 years old and has lived with her grandparents and cousin Jules since the death of her parents. She works as a carer at a retirement home and spends her days listening to her residents' stories.After bonding with Helene, an almost 100-year-old resident, the two women slowly reveal their stories to one another. Whilst Justine helps Helene to relive her memories of love and war, Helene encourages Justine to confront the secrets of her own past, and the loss she has buried deep within.One day, trouble arrives in the form of a mysterious phone call that shakes the retirement home to its core and uncovers a shocking revelation. At once humorous and melancholic, Valerie Perrin's debut novel is a story of how the past can shape our present, and the scars of undeclared love.
About the author
Valérie Perrin’s Forgotten on Sunday won the Booksellers Choice Award in France and has been long-selling bestseller since publication. Her English-language debut, Fresh Water for Flowers (Europa, 2020) won the Maison de la Presse Prize, the Paperback Readers Prize, and was named a 2020 ABA Indies Introduce and Indie Next List title. It has been translated into over thirty languages. Figaro Littéraire named Perrin one of the ten best-selling authors in France in 2019, and in Italy, Fresh Water for Flowers was the bestselling book of 2020.
Since graduating in French from Oxford University, Hildegarde Serle has worked in London as a subeditor, mainly on The Independent. In 2011, she did the CIOL Diploma in Translation. She still lives in London, but her heart lives on the Quai aux Fleurs in Paris.
