The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club)
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4.6 • 160 Ratings
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher 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 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 Wateris 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Prepare to be swept away by this multigenerational epic novel from Abraham Verghese, an infectious-disease expert whose previous novel, Cutting for Stone, was a bestseller. In 1900 India, a 12-year-old girl becomes the child bride of a much older man and the stepmother to his young son, quickly earning the moniker of Ammachi (mother). Verghese’s sweeping novel draws us into her life as well as the lives of her children and grandchildren, expertly tying the family’s story to larger issues in politics, religion, and medicine. Verghese’s obvious knowledge of and enthusiasm for topics like leprosy and brain surgery are surprisingly captivating, and we were fascinated by his portrayal of the seismic social shifts that reshaped India throughout the 20th century. The Covenant of Water is a winding journey that’s worth every step.
Customer Reviews
I didn’t want it to end
The characters are beautifully written.
Loved it!
I’m new to Verghese’s writing! Now that it’s over, I truly miss reading about every one of the characters and their interwoven stories. So descriptive and enjoyable. I was riveted from page 1.
Covenant for water
Abraham Verghese’s description and language transpire in such a beautiful and compelling multi generational narrative all the while set in contrasting yet similar places as Scotland and Kerala. The historical accuracy made it all the more believable. And, like the coming and going of water, life in all its blissful and tragic details goes on for his characters. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed his novels.