The Covenant of Water

By Abraham Verghese,

Book cover of The Covenant of Water

Book description

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…

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Why read it?

34 authors picked The Covenant of Water as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Covenant of Water reminded me more than anything else I’ve ever read of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth trilogy in the writing style and in the way it swept me into a country, an age, and an extended family. I remember this book the way I remember a trip, like I’ve been there and met the characters as real people. Interestingly, I usually avoid medical drama but in this book, it was okay; even the graphic descriptions. I read parts of it twice, just to enjoy the writing. It is clear, complex, heartbreaking, and life affirming, all at…

I felt immersed in a historical world foreign to me, with characters I cared about immediately. The family saga is not only a life story, but there were mysteries as well, which kept me longing to read to find out where the story would weave next. The writing is so lyrical and beautiful that it amplifies the characterization. As an author myself, I sensed that some of the style had permeated my own writing.

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Mimi Zieman Author Of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives. 

Mimi's book list on women exploring the world and self

What is my book about?

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.


By Mimi Zieman,

Why should I read it?

26 authors picked Tap Dancing on Everest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…


This was one of my favorite books, not just of 2024. Abraham Verghese is an exceptional writer. Every sentence is beautifully crafted and one wonders "how can someone write so lyrically?" I love books with clear and interesting plots. "The Covenant of Water" offers a truly unique and captivating plot beginning with the arranged marriage of a young girl to a much older man in southern India. Its a sweeping tale following three generation and it also explores a medical mystery.

Abraham Verghese is a doctor and consequently much detail is given to medical conditions and their treatments. This was…

it's a beautifully written evocative old fashioned family saga with a strong sense of time and place and a mystery hanging over the family that you wonder if it will be solved or not. A book with memorable characters and both pathos and humor.

Beautifully written story with complex characters and a storyline that reflects all the tragedies and joy of life and the faith and fecklessness of human beings. I also loved the medical mystery that courses throughout the book.

I love the beautiful writing style, the pacing of the story, and the overall emotional connection I felt to the characters' obstacles and lives. I especially love how they overcame such tragic obstacles - it spoke to me.

It gave such a good picture of life in different time periods and how the thinking of people changed

Verghese weaves a decades-long story of generations of an Indian family. He is a physician and the book is infused with knowledge and empathy. You will be immersed in their world and the changes through the generations.

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