Who Would Like This Book:
Dive into a sweeping family saga set in Kerala, India, that blends lush historical detail with the drama of generational secrets and medical mysteries. Verghese's writing is exquisite, painting both the land and its characters with warmth and depth. If you love immersive reads with multi-layered, complex storylines, strong women, and themes of resilience, faith, and medical history, this is right up your alley. The audiobook, narrated by the author himself, comes highly recommended! Fans of "Cutting for Stone," "Pachinko," or anyone who enjoys epic family tales will feel right at home.
Who May Not Like This Book:
If you prefer fast-paced novels or struggle with sprawling casts and nonlinear storytelling, this might feel overwhelming - there are a lot of characters and timelines to keep straight! At over 700 pages, it's a serious commitment, and some find the pace slow, especially in the middle. Readers looking for light escapism, romance with happy endings, or who are wary of medical descriptions and emotionally heavy themes may find it tough going.
About:
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is a sprawling epic that spans across three generations and two continents, focusing on the life of Mariamma, who later becomes known as Big Ammachi, the respected matriarch of the Parambil family. The novel delves into themes of love, loss, and secrets, set against the backdrop of Kerala from 1900 to 1970s. The intricate plot weaves together parallel stories, including that of Dr. Digby Kilgour from Scotland, highlighting human connections, medical struggles, and the complexities of relationships. Verghese's writing style is described as exquisite, with vivid descriptions that bring India to life, and characters that are compelling and emotionally engaging.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of death, grief, leprosy, and the impact of medical practices on individuals, along with cultural and social issues that may evoke strong emotional responses.
From The Publisher:
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SUBJECT OF A SIX-PART SUPER SOUL PODCAST SERIES HOSTED BY OPRAH WINFREY
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine, set in Kerala, South India, following three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret
"One of the best books I've read in my entire life. It's epic. It's transportive . . . It was unputdownable!"-Oprah Winfrey, OprahDaily.com
The Covenant of Water is the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years.
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India's Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning-and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala's long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl-and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi-will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.
A shimmering evocation of a bygone India and of the passage of time itself, The Covenant of Water is a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. It is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.
Ratings (120)
Incredible (30) | |
Loved It (51) | |
Liked It (22) | |
It Was OK (9) | |
Did Not Like (6) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (274):
Read It (121) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (117) | |
Did Not Finish (9) | |
Not Interested (25) |
2 comment(s)
I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to finish this one. I nearly DNF’d it several times. There were so many very interesting parts but there were also several very boring parts as well. I’m glad I didn’t do that because overall it was very good.
Beyond amazing. Kept me enthralled through it's entirety
What can you read after
The Covenant of Water?
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