Summary

In Chapter 1, Violette Trenet Toussaint describes all the things her closest neighbors no longer do and no longer are. She explains that she lives next to a cemetery. Everyone interred there is the same except for the wood used for their coffins.

In Chapter 2, Violette introduces herself. She has a small amount of a delicious port every day. The bottle is an annual thank-you gift for taking fresh flowers to a specific grave. Violette says she has experienced a terrible blow, but “Unhappiness has to stop someday” (6). The midwife believed Violette was stillborn and placed her on a radiator. When she warmed up, she showed signs of life. Violette's mother did not want her, and the midwife chose the name Violette Trenet. Violette says she never missed her mother except when she was ill. She has never slouched.

In Chapter 3, Violette and Philippe...