The Covenant of Water
An Oprah's Book Club Selection
-
-
4.7 • 157 Ratings
-
-
- £6.99
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
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023
'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
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water follows a family in southern India 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, 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 poignant beginning, the young girl and future matriarch - known as Big Ammachi - will witness unthinkable changes at home and at large over the span of her extraordinary life, full of the joys and trials of love and the struggles of hardship.
A shimmering evocation of a lost 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 hardships undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today. Imbued with humour, deep emotion and the essence of life, it is one of the most masterful literary novels published in recent years.
Customer Reviews
How I didn’t want this story to end.
I was so invested in this story that spanned generations and I got lost in the beautiful visions of Indian life, a life that I witnessed myself but for too shorter time when visiting not Kerala but Rajasthan on a long holiday. I was fascinated by these lives that lived through tragedy and joy but stoically carried on regardless. I want to now know what happened to Marrieamma and Lenin, maybe that can be a second in the series. I hope so. Diane Singh.
The Covenant of water
This is one of those books that will leave a lasting impression on me. Exquisitely written in a way that pulls the reader in, invoking a range of emotion whilst also offering humour and insight into the human condition and culture of Kerala. An absolute gem.
✨
Beyond perfection