The Covenant of Water

This is a big, sprawling tale, much longer than I usually read, about generations of one family in Kerela, India and I didn’t want it to end.

I loved the immersive setting and the chance to learn more about Indian culture. I loved the characters, especially Big Ammachi, but each character is fully drawn and relatable.

The family curse, The Condition, afflicts people in each generation, often causing death by drowning. This adds a bit of mystery and wonder to a story that is already chockful of wonder and, despite tragedy, never deviates from hope. 

This historical fiction novel resonated in so many ways, a multi-generational family saga, a foreign land richly described, engaging characters, and the insertion (and importance) of medical conditions.

I immersed myself in the story and was saddened when one character left, only to be drawn into the next character. Love, heartache, devotion, despair, disappointment, futility, too many emotions to name, but all truthfully conveyed.

Highly recommend. I'll leave this recommendation with one favorite quote: "Every family has secrets, but not all secrets are meant to deceive."

I have spent many years living in India so any book about India is going to grab me.

The lush setting details, diverse characters, and epic scope of the book drew me in immediately. Although this book was quite long, I truly couldn’t put it down (I know that’s a cliché) as I found myself thoroughly immersed in the three generations of this South Indian family and the intriguing mystical medical mystery behind the story. Loved loved loved it!

Verghese is a master storyteller. This novel’s genesis was stories from his mother written in a spiral notebook, but what the author did after that is nothing short of miraculous. It is an art to bring the reader into the consciousness of the characters the way he does.

We follow them through their joys and their tragedies, these generations of a family that we come to love with all their flaws, illnesses, courage, and humanity. I don’t understand when readers say they don’t like to read unhappy or disturbing stories or books, for by entering into the darker side of… show more.

As I read The Covenant of Water, I loved every page of it – the flawed though likable/relatable characters, the beautiful writing, the plot (all three criteria have to be met for me to really enjoy a book). My only worry was that the book was going to end.

But I couldn’t really tell how long it was because I was reading it on a Kindle – and the “page” numbers and % complete stats don’t really tell me anything. But the book didn’t end. It kept going through three generations of a family afflicted with the same tragic condition.… show more.

A great novel is a welcome respite from my work on crisis leadership. In this book, Verghese swept me away to a world I didn’t know and soon didn’t want to leave.

The characters became like family, and the setting of southwest India was perhaps the most compelling character of all. I was completely caught up in their lives and struggles that span several generations.

The mix of medicine and mysticism engaged different parts of my brain at different times, keeping me eager for more. It is a lengthy book—and I could have read twice as much more.

This sweeping, gorgeous, intergenerational epic begins in Kerala, India, at the start of the twentieth century. The characters are tragic and resilient, cursed and graced, living and dying, and I fell in love with each one.

What begins as a tale of a fourteen-year-old bride in a small Christian community in Southern India spirals into exquisite narrative tendrils that explore caste and class, politics and history, colonialism, family, love, and death in ways that both resonate with the particulars of American history as well as the universality of our violent, heartbreaking, and beautiful humanity.

Ultimately, each of us, all of… show more.

The Covenant of Water was the most memorable, emotional reading experience I’ve had in years. Yet, despite the accolades, if not for my book club, I might have avoided it because it’s 775 pages. Don’t let that length discourage you!

Under author Abraham Verghese’s sure hand, the immersive multigenerational plot flows beautifully and swiftly. Indian culture, humor, and raw humanity burst to life on every page.

The characters, so well-wrought that you love them despite their faults, are unique. The women especially touched my heart, reminding me how often they are the glue that binds culture, family, and progress.

A… show more.

One of my favorite things to do is go to author talks either live or virtually. I saw Abraham Verghese in person earlier this year and he was so engaging and brilliant and funny.

His books read like poetry, so very literary, yet the story he tells catches your interest immediately and holds your interest throughout. He was inspired to write this book from his mother’s experiences in India and his descriptions and setting are almost characters and make you feel like you are there.

I loved hearing about his writing process and that it was about 14 years since… show more.

For starters, the first page and the opening lines were so startling that it would have been impossible not to turn the page. And it begins with a focus on a pre-adolescent girl; I always think when I encounter such protagonists: these are my people.

I was such a girl myself once. I raised daughters. I write for adolescents. When I encounter such a voice, I settle in and enter that world. 

And the world of this book is one that was foreign to me. I’ve never been to India, never much wondered about life there. But Verghese creates… show more.