The Covenant of Water

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 68,797 ratings

Price: 26.33

Last update: 09-19-2024


About this item

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.


Top reviews from the United States

Brandel Luebbert
5.0 out of 5 stars Navigating Life's Currents: My Journey with "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2024
Hello! New to the group and I wanted to share my experience/review of the 6th book I finished this year, "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese.

Working at an animal shelter, I've discovered that listening to audiobooks is a great way to drown out the barking and find some peace amidst the chaos. It also aligns well with my love for big books. Verghese's narrative skill navigated me through a myriad of lives, each distinctly drawn and compelling. While the pacing occasionally lagged, I found that it reflected the fluidity of life's currents, with every character, no matter how seemingly minor, contributing meaningfully to the narrative. This mirrors the intricacies of existence, where even the smallest roles hold significance, enriching the overall fabric of the story.

What truly elevated the experience for me was Verghese's own narration. His voice lent an intimate depth to the characters and their journeys, infusing each moment with a palpable sense of authenticity. It was as if he personally invited me into the world he had crafted, guiding me through its highs and lows with a storyteller's finesse. This added layer of connection between narrator and listener made the emotional impact of the book even more profound, leaving an enduring impression that transcends the pages.

Moreover, Verghese's prose captured the essence of human experience with remarkable clarity and depth. Through his vivid descriptions and keen insights, he delved into themes of identity, love, loss, and redemption, inviting readers to contemplate the complexities of life and relationships. Each scene was meticulously crafted, evoking a range of emotions and prompting introspection long after the audiobook had ended. Verghese's narrative mastery not only entertained but also challenged and enlightened, making "The Covenant of Water" a truly unforgettable literary journey.
gbrant
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, compassionate multigenerational story
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2024
Though a very long book, I didn’t want the story to end. It is very well written and tells a rich tale of several different people living very different lives in India who somehow in some way become involved with one another. One of the best books I’ve read.
Mary Lynn
4.0 out of 5 stars Great story
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2024
I loved the way Verghese can weave a story. It was so well thought and interesting. Characters were very well developed and likable, and admirable. What I didn’t like was the use of SO MANY Indian terms. Unless you speak and Indian language it was very distracting to the beautiful story. If there is just a few Indian words per chapter, I would be willing to look up the translation, but not 4 or 5 per page, which often occurred.
I would give it 5+ stars if there was an abridged book with fewer Indian words. My book club agreed with all my above comments. Fantastic book, but too many unknown words.
Cynthia S Patterson
5.0 out of 5 stars Rich storylines
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2024
This book is beautifully written and transports the reader to another world, where stories are connected by water. It’s a long book, but worth it.
Steven E. Sanderson
5.0 out of 5 stars A Saga of Kerala
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2024
This is a great saga, with all of the pluses and minuses of the doorstop novel. It surrounds the lives of rural residents of Kerala, in India's Southwest, with occasional forays into Tamil Nadu. The protagonists are attractive, smart, good people who suffer the many afflictions we attribute to the deep past: leprosy, typhoid, diptheria, as well as some that are still among us, including neurofibromatosis. Verghese is an accomplished writer and also a physician at Stanford. So, get ready for a lot of diagnostic stuff, as well as surgical procedures that will interest some more than others. Except for the occasional lecher and selfish relatives, no villains haunt the story. At times, the prose is pretty didactic, but I don't know how one gets around it when speaking of Hindu divinities, informal names, caste categories and other contextual challenges. I thought the romances were a little too good to be true, and despite the title, water is more allegorical than real, considering how powerful the monsoon and the watersheds of the Western Ghats are to the region. And the novel barely glances at the structuring forces of WWI and WWII, the partition that followed independence in 1947, and the stresses of Indian modernization of rural life. In a sense, the book hovers just underneath all these great tectonic changes, staying at the level of village, plantation, and individual actors. Not a complaint, really, as I can't feature including the macro without adding another 700 pages or so, but still....
Having spent time in Southern India, I enjoyed the sights and sounds and manners that I remember. I especially recognized the uniqueness of train travel: stepping off into the station in Madras (or Delhi) or careening across trestles, or sharing compartments with the most memorable companions. I always enjoy reading Verghese's fiction. Such a talent deserves praise.
PSB
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing story!
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2024
I ordered the audio book at the same time - so beautifully written and read! Worth every minute I spent with it!!
Bill Buchanan
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing read, The Covenant of Water
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2024
This book is a literary masterpiece that incorporates medical mystery, powerful religious teaching and the fact that we are all interrelated through the metaphor of the ubiquity of water. The major characters are brilliantly delineated and one feels both joy and sadness as their lives are revealed to have debilitating conditions, both medical and social. I loved the book.
Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars I would describe this book as captivating
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2024
Honestly I am still thinking about this book and I am confused about how I would rate it. It was definitely captivating and the characters draw you in and when you read the book it feels like you are a fly on the wall. The writing is good because I felt like I was in the middle of all the drama.

The ending however was so weird. It reminded of some of the movies I watch where they try to bring in a social cause. They try so hard that it’s just awkward. Except for the ending I think it was a good read.

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