Placing Us in Time and Circumstance
So, it's June, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and we are just emerging from a year and a half of hiding in the basement. (A bit like the cicadas, although their tenure underground was quite a bit longer than ours). As we stumble out, blinking in the sun and hobbling in actual shoes that feel foreign, we find that we can actually meet IN PERSON for book club.
For some of us, reading during this time of trauma was a balm. For others, it was impossible, concentration being just out of reach. But, our first reunion demonstrated that our readers are back in business. So, let's get started.
The Set-up
Translated from the French, this story is told from the perspective of Violette Toussaint, the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. From the publisher: "Her daily life is lived to the rhythms of the hilarious and touching confidences of random visitors and her colleagues -- three gravediggers, three groundskeepers, and a priest.
Violette's routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of police chief Julien Seul wishing to deposit his mother's ashes on the gravesite of a complete stranger. Julien is not the only one to guard a painful secret: his mother's story of clandestine love breaks through Violette's carefully constructed defenses to reveal the ...." and I'm just going to stop there as this next bit is a spoiler. Plus, the above description is really not very good or even accurate.
Insights and Opinions
+ Chris, who was unable to complete any book during quarantine, couldn’t put this one down, perhaps because of its three-page chapters, or perhaps because her own childhood friend’s father was a cemetery keeper. “It resonated with me by reminding me what a happy place a cemetery can be,” she said.
+ Steve noted that there is so much love in this book, but much of it is frustrated. The writer does a masterful job of writing human characters, each interesting in their own oddities and eccentricities and, as a result, you feel real affection for each character. None of them are there as plot devices and they all play an important role.
+ Liz appreciated the quiet pace of the book – Violette’s knowledge of every grave, her journal in which she keeps a careful record of services and gatherings, the chats in her “public” room where she listens, the creepy dolls on her staircase. On the other hand, she felt that the book’s conclusion was out of keeping with the rest of the writing. No more can be said about that, though, as it would be a spoiler if you haven’t read the book.
+ Margy pointed out that this book is about love and redemption, but that no one seems to be in love with the person they are with. Instead, they are all having affairs with someone else. There followed some discussion about whether this is a “French thing” and that we just don’t get it as Americans. Or maybe we’re just prudes.
+ The many references to French culture and events left Linda a bit in the dark, so she just moved on. “Maybe I’m just not the ideal reader for this book,” she said. Liz Googled a few things along the way, which helped. But the story still stands without a complete understanding of these elements.
+ Lois was moved by the scenes in a cemetery room where Violette meets with the gravediggers, the men from the funeral home, the priest, and the mourners. These scenes brought her into each of these characters and demonstrated Violette’s wisdom and quiet but wise spirit.
Oddments and Telling Details
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| Our hostess, plus aftermath |
+ In person, we were able to count Linda, Jocey, Liz, Steve, Shirley, Lois, and Margy, which was pretty amazing given current circumstances. Chris joined us via Zoom due to being skunked in her effort to get on a plane, the aviation industry being in the same muddle as everything else right now.
+ Jocey was semi-bleary-eyed, having just flown in from a “last-minute” camping trip to Iceland (who does that?).
+ Margy’s John stayed downstairs guarding the door and keeping the creeps and weirdos out, and for that we are grateful.
+ Steve brought out an old book from days of yore and impressed us with his fluent French, which made us all feel insecure.
Where Has This Blog Been?
Also emerging from the basement is this blog, which has been dormant since 2017 for many reasons, but mostly the laziness of the writer.
