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Three Paperback – May 2, 2023

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 730 ratings

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An Indie Next List Pick

From the international bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers, a beautifully told and suspenseful story about the ties that bind us and the choices that make us who we are.

1986: Adrien, Etienne and Nina are 10 years old when they meet at school and quickly become inseparable. They promise each other they will one day leave their provincial backwater, move to Paris, and never part.

2017: A car is dragged up from the bottom of the lake, a body inside. Virginie, a local journalist with an enigmatic past reports on the case while also reflecting on the relationship between the three friends, who were unusually close when younger but now no longer speak. As Virginie moves closer to the surprising truth, relationships fray and others are formed. 

Valérie Perrin has an unerring gift for delving into life. In Three, she accompanies readers through a sequence of heart-wrenching events and revelations that span three decades. Three tells a moving story of love and loss, hope and grief, friendship and adversity, and of time as an ineluctable agent of change.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Three

★ “Perrin’s prose is engrossing, transforming ordinary situations into delectable treats... Startling and affecting, Three is a novel about the refuge found in true friends, and about the mercy of self-acceptance.”—ForeWord Reviews (Starred Review)

“While the mystery of the car is thrilling and heartbreaking, the real power of this work is in the way Perrin captures the experience of growing up... Tender and often raw, this moody novel is a complex tale of friendship wrapped around a mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Friendship is complicated in Perrin’s enticing exploration of a trio who meet on the first day of fifth grade and remain inseparable... The numerous twists and eye-opening revelations will keep readers riveted. This offers a bounty of rewards.”—Publishers Weekly

Three transplants you wholly onto its pages, leaving you between two drags of air and twice as many enigmas. This is a remarkable feat, as the plot swaggers up and down its timeline frantically, conveying a sense of derailment that’s as thematic as it is subliminal.”—Delphic Reviews

Praise for Valérie Perrin’s Fresh Water for Flowers

“Melancholic and yet ebullient… An appealing indulgence in nature, food and drink, and, above all, friendships.”—The Guardian

“It’s very healing... I haven’t read a more beautifully written book for a long time.”—Sarah Harden, CEO of Hello Sunshine, in the Wall Street Journal

“Full of contentment and hope... Fans of Elizabeth Berg will enjoy this thoughtful take on the inner life of an unforgettable woman.”—Booklist

“A glorious read. Touching, thought provoking, taut: a tribute to our power to heal. Another must read.”—OCinsite.com

★ “Exuberant.”—ForeWord Reviews (Starred Review)

“Colorful and highly enjoyable.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Enchanting.”—Publishers Weekly

“A beautiful, intensely atmospheric bittersweet dream of a book.”—Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library

“Romantic, yes; light, yes; meaningless, no.”—Bethanne Patrick, Literary Hub

Fresh Water for Flowers entranced me with its quiet joy.”—Kathi Kirby, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR

Fresh Water For Flowers goes to show how debuts can be great works. Perrin plumbs the depths of motherhood, life on the streets, and regret in her story […] It is an extremely well-written book that was frankly difficult to put down…”—San Francisco Book Review

Fresh Water for Flowers is a moving and lyrical portrait of one woman’s quest for happiness and love. A splendid work that will keep readers absorbed to the last page. A charming must-read.”—Lindsey Bartlett, formerly of Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore, Emporia, KS

Fresh Water for Flowers is a saga of a woman’s life from nothing to something…A story representative of many girls and women trapped by social and financial circumstances.”—The Winnipeg Free Press

“Readers will be swept away by the poetic gentleness of the narration, by the generous gaze that the two protagonists cast over human affairs, by the desire for peace felt by both Julian and Violette.”—La Croix (France)

“This book left me breathless and in tears!...A story of life with love, loss, yearning, sadness and all of the emotions that humans experience during their lifetimes.”—Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL

“Gorgeous.”—Cat Chapman, Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL

“One of those special books that defy description and make you glad it was written!”—Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, OR

“The only way I can describe this book is that it’s an epic…It is contemporary fiction, a murder mystery, a thriller, a tragedy, and a romance all rolled into one.”—Katie MacKendrick, librarian, Denver Public Library

“Reading [Fresh Water for Flowers] was truly a magical experience.”—Quentin Greif, Little City Books, Hoboken, NJ

“This story is simply beautiful. Fresh, fun, and so unique.”—Kappy Kling, HearthFire Books, Evergreen, CO

“A novel of astonishing humanity accomplished with an art so subtle it will take your breath away.”—Mary McDonald, Nicola’s Books, Ann Arbor, MI




About the Author

Valérie Perrin was born in 1967 in Remiremont, in the Vosges Mountains, France. She grew up in Burgundy and settled in Paris in 1986. Her novel The Forgotten Sunday (2015) won the Booksellers Choice Award and the paperback edition has been a long-selling best-seller 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 best selling book of 2020. Perrin now lives in Normandy.



For Europa Editions, Hildegarde Serle has translated the bestselling Mirror Visitor series by Christelle Dabos and Perrin’s previous book, Fresh Water for Flowers. She lives in London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Europa Editions; Reprint edition (May 2, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1609458478
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1609458478
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1.25 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 730 ratings

About the author

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Valérie Perrin
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Valérie Perrin was born in 1967 in Remiremont, in the Vosges Mountains, France. She grew up in Burgundy and settled in Paris in 1986. Her novel Forgotten on Sunday (2015) won the Booksellers Choice Award. 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 forty 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 best selling book of 2020.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
730 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2023
A book I couldn’t put down not only because it is written so beautifully but. Because it changes like a river. Once you think it is about this, it turns out to be about another thing. It is special and surprising and a joy to read.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2022
“Three” by Valerie Perrin, and translated from the French by, Hildegarde Serle, is an absorbing tale of friendship, loyalty, betrayal, and forgiveness, and with quite a few mysteries and twists.

Nina, Adrien, and Etienne, become inseparable in elementary school. But something happened that separated them from one another. What could have happened? Secrets and surprises are revealed in this novel that kept me turning the pages.

While compelling and propulsive, I found “Three” a bit overwritten at times; a bit too much foreshadowing and attempts at suspense where the reader already knows the outcome. But this was not a consequential flaw, and Perrin is a writer I will continue to follow eagerly. 4.5 stars
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2023
This book took me by the hand and pulled me in a beautiful story. I loved the beginning and liked the end. I also think Perrin has a talent of making things dark, but not that dark so that a touch of light can still shine. It is a beautiful book. It should be read by many.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2023
this fantastic novel who grips the reader instantly. The "pattern" of many relationships and many events is woven together in a magnificent and mesmerizing way.
My strongest recommendations.
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2022
I love books like this that follow characters through a lifetime. In this story, the telling goes back and forth with the plot lines continuing when the characters are young and then with characters as adults. So it feels fresh and not drawn out.

The translation is fantastic. It really captures the craft of the original writer.

There is an aspect to the story that involves a hot button cultural issue, but I felt it was done authentically and not used to promote a certain point of view that might turn some people off.

I don't want to be more specific so as not to ruin the story.
8 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2022
I loved fresh Water For Flowers and bought myriad copies to give to friends. Everyone loved it except my daughter in law . She only has good taste in men in my opinion. I digress. If you don’t fall in love with all the characters and they mystery of love in this book consider yourself hopeless. Three is breathtaking. I wish I could read French to read every word V. Perrin has written.
5 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2022
When Adrien, Etienne, and Nina meet in school at 10 years old in 1986, they immediately become inseparable. They made a promise to move together to Paris as soon as they grew up and never part, but something happened along the way, and the three no longer speak. When a car is pulled from the bottom of a lake in their hometown in 2017, Virginie, a local reporter, covers the story while remembering the trio and how close they had been.

Clocking in at 21 hours, 25 minutes for the audiobook version, we slowly learn about the friendship between Adrien, Etienne, and Nina and how they got to where each is in 2017. The plot unfolds slowly but gives you a lot to think about as it does so. I hesitate to say more about the book for fear of giving away spoilers, but I definitely recommend checking out this novel!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2023
This book is far too long. Time lines are jumbled around loosing this reader completely, who also struggled with who was telling the story and got fed up with the whole theme of the school time friendships between two boys and a girl and their tortuous retention into adulthood. It seems to be the trend today to take a theme (or two - fatal disease so overdone today) and allow the characters to sit there endlessly taking about them.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Madeleine Hardin
5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying novel, worth reading
Reviewed in Canada on November 10, 2023
A complex novel with overlapping timelines that follows the threads in 3 lives to show how they knit together. It is inductive, much like a mystery novel with surprising plot twists.
One person found this helpful
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Tru Freeman
5.0 out of 5 stars Really, really enjoy this author
Reviewed in Canada on May 1, 2023
Read Valerie Perrin's first book "Fresh Water for Flowers" and absolutely loved it. This is the second book she's had translated from French to English and it doesn't disappoint. Can't decide which of the two books I like best; both were awesome.
2 people found this helpful
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Emily Stone
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars Great
Reviewed in Canada on July 1, 2023
A book that grabs you and doesn't let go. Beautifully written as well.
One person found this helpful
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