49 pages • 1 hour read
Valérie PerrinA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Content Warning: This novel depicts graphic sexual assault, death by suicide, substance use disorder, and the loss of a child.
The narrator, Violette Toussaint, recounts the defining characteristics of her nearby neighbors: the dead. Violette lives near the cemetery where she works.
Violette introduces herself and enjoys a glass of port while she reminisces. She was given up at birth and assumed stillborn until the warmth of a radiator brought her back to life. A midwife named her. Violette grew straight and tall; every day “disciplined” her. As an adult, she married a man named Philippe Toussaint.
In 1997, many years before the narrative present, Violette and Philippe have lost their jobs as level-crossing operators; Violette did all the work for both of them. Violette discovers an advert for a couple to watch over a cemetery in the small village of Brancion-en-Chalon and convinces Philippe to go. Upon arrival, Violette realizes she is where she belongs.
Plus, gain access to 8,450+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
French Literature
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
Popular Book Club Picks
View Collection
Popular Study Guides
View Collection
Romance
View Collection
Sexual Harassment & Violence
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection