A wonderful multigenerational account of a family in India who deal with a condition that causes them to fear water. The book proceeds with information about that condition and also about Hansens Disease or leprosy. I loved the author's book Cutting For Stone and this is another great book of a family dealing with an unknown , at least to me, medical condition. This book should be enjoyed by all who enjoy books of family histories, and getting some medical information also. Highly recommended

Cutting For Stone was a magnificent novel, and I couldn't help but wonder if this author could produce another such book. Having just finished its 700+ pages, I applaud him, as he has absolutely produced another masterpiece. Set in the state of Kerala in southern India, and based in part on stories told to him by his own mother (and written out by her for her first granddaughter), The Covenant of Water is a story of a family that over the course of some 70 years experiences joy and pain, success and hardship, sickness, death, and sometimes, near-miraculous recovery. It's a family with secrets, some more widely shared than others, and some held closely among very few. It's filled with wonderful characters, all flawed and imperfect, but each in his or her own way, striving to live the best life they can. The novel also includes a great deal of history, involving both the transformation of India over the course of the 20th century, and changes in the author's own field of medicine as well. The writing is absolutely beautiful throughout. I recommend this book highly and without reservation.

4.5 stars
This book is a tour de force! If you love family sagas, historical fiction, epic drama, and extra chunky page length— look no further! I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I started the book but it subtly drew me in and kept me coming back for more. I found myself looking up some of the places and events mentioned over the course of the book. I definitely learned a lot! I didn’t know what was going to happen as I got closer to finishing the book and it definitely took some very unexpected turns at the end. I was shocked! This story will stay with me for a while. I know I’ll be thinking about everyone and revisiting that ending for quite some time!
*Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

Another incredibly beautifully written book from Abraham Verghese! I could not stop reading and loved the multi-generational stories that he weaved together skillfully. There were multiple points were I thought I could predict how the different threads of the story would come together, but in the end, I did not anticipate how everything would match up and was surprised all over again.

I knew a little bit about Christianity in Kerala, leprosy and leper colonies in India, and other topics in the book that I won't mention for fear of spoilers, but discovered so much more reading this book. The back stories for the different characters that lead up to the moment when everything comes together are so rich and fascinating that they really aren't back stories at all while you are reading them.

Will definitely be recommending this book to so many people for so many different reasons!

Thank you Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for sharing Abraham Verghese’s new novel. I enjoyed his previous book, Cutting for Stone but this new work was more engaging to me. I loved the setting and the characters, I quickly felt that I wanted to know these people in my real life. The ending was a bit melodramatic and soap opera like, but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. Be forewarned, this is a book with a lot of sadness and catastrophes. In that, it reminded me of A Fine Balance. Thoroughly recommend this for any reader of literary fiction.

I found everything about The Covenant of Water to be both intriguing and deeply satisfying fiction. Abraham Verghese has woven a storyline that follows three generations of the Parambil family with deep roots in the “spice coast” of India and an even deeper secret–the peculiar affliction of an unreasonable fear of water and a tragic death by drowning in every generation.

The author’s day job as a physician is manifest in the book’s scope and level of detail in the description of medical procedures and the history of leprosy treatment in India. Too, his own family’s connection to the ancient Christian community founded by Thomas the doubting disciple has informed his references to church and missiological history and his lovely allusions to the Christian Scriptures.

Verghese’s main protagonist, the twelve-year-old bride who ripens into the family matriarch, is only one of the strong women whose passing lives propel the narrative forward. Their days are complicated by British colonialism, the caste system, and their fierce connection to family, and the reader is treated to a front-row seat to the women’s rich, interior lives. Their faith and loyalty are like the water surrounding their dwelling place, ever-present, informing their decisions, and binding them together in ways that do not become apparent until the last page of this deeply satisfying novel is turned.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

This dynamic saga of ordinary people surviving in 20th century India features the politics, the medicine, the superstition, the religious beliefs, the arts, the joy and the suffering through a multitude of complex relationships. Each of the main characters is a stand-out on his or her own, and the unifying conclusion makes the 84 chapters so worth the time spent with these characters.

In the beginning, an adolescent female is promised in marriage to a widower twice her age. This man gives her all the time she needs to mature as she cares for his young son and comes to love her husband.. She will come to be known as Big Ammachi. This husband suffers from a hereditary condition about which little is known---drowning and the fear of water. It will not be until generations later that some understanding of the affliction is reached and remedies attempted.

Parallel to this narrative is the story of a young surgeon, forbidden love and its tragic consequences. When he eventually heads a leper colony, his path will cross and be forever intertwined with the family of Big Ammachi.

Abraham Verghese offers many descriptive passages of various surgical procedures that may not be to every reader's liking. Verghese has also chosen to write in a nonlinear narrative style. A consequence of this is that a reader may forget some aspects of the story which may have left off several chapters before.

Abraham Verghese knows his subject and his care and concern are certainly evident in this endeavor.

Abraham Verghese …. This is a man who dangerously stretches the bounds of storytelling. It is hard to believe that he has created another masterpiece as immersive and riveting as his previous novel, Cutting for Stone. In this present case, it paid off for us to be patient. This current saga Is destined for many a keeper shelf. Despite its hefty tone, all 736 pages, reading this novel is like slipping on an old sweater: warm, comforting and all enveloping. This is a three -generation story of individuals living in Kerala, India from the 1900s through the 1970’s. It all begins when a 12 year old girl Is married off to an older widower with a young child. What she doesn't know is that this family has something called the “Condition” in which every generation going back at least 7 years has had one member that has drowned unexpectedly in a puddle, a shallow pond, a stream, or a river. This little girl who grows up to be labeled Big Ammachi (little mother) turns out to be the central maypole around which the other characters revolve. So much is contained within the walls of the book that it would take hours to describe but
the author paints a marvelous mural filled with both warts and beauty. The reader is confronted with caste issues, historical developments, the emotional pain and disfigurement of leprosy, smallpox, typhoid, inadequate health care, surgery, opium addiction, art and literature, monsoons and beyond all love. I have often felt that the people I have met in India, particularly those of the lower castes, are so much “richer” than those in the USA. Perhaps they do not possess our wealth, but they have a richness of spirit that elevates them far beyond us. Care and affection is in abundance in this novel traveling in a slow languid pace like the rivers of Kerala. It is the love and atmospheric prose that keeps the pages turning: it is a novel that gives guidance to living.
This book is simply magisterial and spellbinding. I wish I could give it more stars!!

Since I thought Cutting for Stone was a masterpiece, I really looked forward to this book. It didn’t disappoint, but in my opinion, wasn’t as good as Cutting for Stone. If you like to read about areas of the world that you know little about, history, and medical subjects, Abraham Vergase’s books are for you.
Taking place in southern India through three generations, the characters fly off the page, as does the settings. By his spectacular prose, I could clearly see what type of area they lived in, and felt I knew the characters. There are many, and at the very beginning , I had to make a list of the names and their relationship to each other. Vergese creates a web of situations so when you wonder why a character was created, you know that you will see him/her at another part of the book. As in lots of good friction, there are secrets, which eventually come out. But there are A LOT of secrets in this saga. Do they get tied up in a bow at the end…yes, and they are both shocking and eye opening.
I learned so much in this book…about India, castes, medicine, opiates, etc. and I love books that teach me something new. I highly recommend this book to book lovers.

I read Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone a decade ago, loved it, and have always hoped to read another great novel from this author. Now, at last, this sweeping, multigenerational epic full of loves and losses, faith and forgiveness. It’s a great story from beginning to end. Its various themes, triumphs, and tragedies are woven together in the history of one family living in Kerala, South India, from 1900 to 1977. Verghese is a brilliant writer and his literary strengths shine in his meticulous, vivid descriptions of landscapes and cultures, in the creation of memorable, multifaceted characters, some of which one cannot help but love, and in compelling, old-fashioned storytelling. As most readers may know, Verghese is well-known internal medicine physician and Professor at Stanford, and this book, like Cutting for Stone, is imbued with his devotion to the mysteries and marvels of medicine.

There are so many levels on which this story is affecting, from is overarching themes to its individual personalities, both the troubled and the lovable. I’m grateful that some, like Big Ammachi and Baby Mol, now feel like part of my life. The title relates to an affliction — fear of water and drownings, along with other characteristics — called merely “the Condition,” that plagues the central family, pervades the plot, and accounts for many of the characters’ actions. It appears to be congenital, but its cause is a mystery. The unraveling of that mystery is part of the plot (though, clearly, this is not a mystery novel). I love the way characters (so many!) connect and part and reconnect throughout the book, the rendering of love, its sweetest moments and its sometimes devastating outcomes. And I appreciate the way that the author teaches readers something about how much of any individual life is a consequence of the many generations that have gone before, how history informs the present moment, a theme that is subtly woven into the narrative over and over.

There is a fair amount of switching between one set of characters and another. While at first, this can be (only momentarily) jarring, readers will have the sense that, at some point, all of these lives will somehow flow together. Also, this is a long book (at 756 pages) and at times, I wished for it to move faster or wondered whether it could have been shorter. But for me, the last 20-25% just took off in such a rush that I was unable to stop reading. By its conclusion, I had a new appreciation for all of the story and glad to have read every bit of it. Thinking over my lifetime of reading, few books match this one for value returned on investment. It’s truly magnificent.

My thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Grove Press for an advanced reader copy.

Abraham Verghese, is the well known best selling author of Cutting for Stone, The Covenant of Water is his new novel and is set in the State of Kerala, in Southern India,

Beginning in 1900, this novel spans 3 generations (up to the 70's) and focuses upon BIg Ammachi, at first a young girl slated to become the matriarch of a family that she is yet to meet. At age 12 she begins her uneasy relationship with water, one that ties to a medical issue woven throughout the story. You are sure to never forget this story nor it's characters. Be prepared for an intense and moving story, an unforgettable tale and a true work of literature.
#CovenantofWater #AbrahamVerghese #GroveATlantic

i could not get into this book. it wasn’t enjoyable for me. while the setting of kerala is very vivid, the rest of the novel is not. i did not care about digby at all, not even a little, and his chapters were the worst for me. i also really don’t care for novels that are christian-based. just not my preference to read about a colonizer religion.

god this was so boring. if you’re an old person, you might have the patience and understanding that i do not to enjoy this. not for me. it’s just so long.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

It's been many years since I read Adam Verghese' Cutting for Stone, but I remember it being a page turner that grabbed me from the first page. I was thrilled to see a new book by him and couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately, I felt lost for about the first third of this book as so many characters presented and several timelines and continents showed up. My experience with the earlier book led me to persevere and I'm so happy that I did. All the pieces came together for me after that first part and I was hooked! The book is set primarily in India and follows several generations of a family. At the core is the search for a cause/cure of a "condition" that shows up in each generation that leads to the death of the individual by drowning. Interesting medical situations, historical treatments, local flavors and customs, politics and romance all present and make it easy for the reader to zoom thru this very hefty tome! I appreciate the opportunity presented by NetGalley to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheCovenantofWater. #NetGalley

The Covenant of Water
by Abraham Verghese
Pub Date: May 2, 2023
Grove Press
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I had read Cutting for Stone, The Tennis Partner and My Own Country: A Doctor's Story by this author and was quite surprised that this one did not hit the mark for me.
A good, but not great novel by the author of Cutting for Stone. This novel takes several chapters to really get into the various parts of the story. Sadly , a three star read for me.
3 star

A long time to wait for the follow up to the literary masterpiece Cutting For Stone by Vergese.
Well worth the wait.
If you are a fan of family sagas, brilliant writing, different cultures and historical fiction then I highly recommend The Covenant of Water.
The characters are well drawn and the narrative traces one Christian Indian family in what is now Kerala state India over seven decades.
Their hopes, triumphs , tragedies and the impact of the democratic transition from the British colonial rule are all folded into the story of a family that has “water” as both a nemesis and a curse .
I particularly enjoyed the last 1/3 of the book as all the narrative threads came together in a highly believable ending.

A good, but not great novel by the author of Cutting for Stone. This novel takes several chapters to really get into the various parts of the story. Overall, a three star read.

I loved Cutting for Stone, so naturally when I saw Verghese had a new book coming out I jumped at the chance to read an ARC. I’m sad to say tho that ‘The Covenant of Water’ did not hold up to the 5 star expectations I had of this book.

One good thing about this book was the setting. Kerala was such a lush, vivid backdrop to a somewhat tiresome story with seemingly dull characters. I always love when a book piques my interest in a new location or subject, which absolutely happened here. Kerala was named one of Earth’s 10 paradises by national geographic, so of course that helped to set the scene. I loved reading about the stunning landscapes, the wild nature of the place and the people, the beaches, backwaters and canals. It made me desperate to visit here one day!

That being said, there was not a lot more to propel me forward, the characters were one dimensional, remote. I never felt connected to all of them or like any of them really came to life within the story. The story took place over such a large span of time that it was hard to stay interested or connected to not only the characters but the story itself. I felt like things would start moving on right when I had started to get a grip on what was happening now.

And to be honest, I thought the whole thing was predictable. There were no surprises, no storylines that kept me interested because of the unknown. I could've guessed at the books progression and ultimate ending from the very beginning.

This did make me interested in the location, & I did a good amount of research on Kerala & on the government and history of it, so that was the book’s biggest upside, but as for the rest, the majority of the story and it’s characters….3 stars is being generous. It was more of a 2.5 for me. No doubt some of the disappointment is exacerbated by the fact that I had such high hopes for this. Had I gone into it without ‘Cutting for Stone’ to compare it to, I might have been more generous. As is, 3 stars was the best I could do.

Oh how I loved Abraham Verghese's sweeping new novel set in Southern India! Spanning the years 1900 - 1977, The Covenant of Water follows three generations of a family in a small Christian community in Kerala who have a peculiar affliction. The story begins in 1900 when a 12 year-old girl is married to a man many years older than her and goes to live with him and his son on the family estate. As an adult, she becomes known as Big Ammachi which simply means 'big mother' in Malayalam (the language spoken in Kerala). Big Ammachi soon learns that her husband and his extended family are plagued by a mysterious condition that causes an aversion to water which is unusual since they live amidst the rivers and backwaters of Kerala. When Big Ammachi finds an old genealogy chart she discovers that at least one person a generation has died by drowning and she is determined to unravel this mystery in order to spare her children and later her grandchildren. Her determination to find a cure for this condition is the thread that runs through her life as she experiences great joy as well as heartbreaking tragedy. There's also a parallel story that connects a couple of times and merges in the final part of the book about a Glaswegian doctor, Digby Kilgour, who comes to India to work as a surgeon.

At its heart this is a story about family, love and loss but there is so much more woven into the narrative over Big Ammachi's lifetime. Over the course of nearly 8 decades, the story encompasses the history of South India and the formation of the state of Kerala including politics and the rise of Communism in Kerala post-independence as well as the Naxalite movement, and touches on issues relating to poverty, the caste system, religion, and women's rights. There are also a number of interesting medical issues that are germane to the plot relating to the understanding of the Condition at the core of the novel as well as leprosy, childbirth, and neurosurgery. The lyrical prose is beautiful throughout but I especially enjoyed the evocative descriptions of the landscape of Kerala which brought the setting of the story to life for me.

I was completely absorbed in this fascinating epic which is equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. At 700+ pages, reading it is a commitment but I didnt want it to end and I relished every last page!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really loved "cutting for stone" and was looking forward to this new one which has been a long time coming!
It didn't disappoint with its epic saga of life and love in India from 1900 to 1960's. The author was able to make the reader care about the minutiae of family life as well as give an understanding of the broader history of the country. It was very moving and devastating at times, but love and hope almost conquered all.
My only quibble was the use of geordie and Scottish vernacular speech, it didn't add anything but was quite annoying.
Thank you to netgalley and Grove books for an advance copy of this book.

This is a story of family, a family seemingly cursed over generations, cursed by the water that surrounds them, as well as other issues that plague them.

Their story begins in 1900, in Travancore, South India with a girl who will be married the next morning. Her mother lies beside her on this night, the last night she will spend in the only home she has ever known. She wakes early the next morning, and while her mother still sleeps, she sits to write her thoughts, ’her father’s ghostly impression preserved in the cane weave’, and stares at the view outside the window, saying her goodbyes to the lagoon, the coconut trees, and the creek. Her husband-to-be is a man she has not yet met, she only knows that he values her as the daughter of a priest, although ’Her father’s breath was now just air.’ Her husband-to-be is a widower with a young son, and is older than her mother at the age of forty. She is twelve.

’Where the sea meets white beach, it thrusts fingers inland to intertwine with the rivers snaking down the green canopied slopes of the Ghats. It is a child’s fantasy world of rivulets and canals, a latticework of lakes and lagoons, a maze of backwaters and bottle-green lotus ponds; a vast circulatory system because, as her father used to say, all water is connected.’

While this covers the lives of many people, generations as well as places, the connections made, connections lost, as well as tragedies, at times it may seem as though the individual stories aren’t connected - the heart this story is about connections, and eventually the individual stories, like the waters, all flow into one.


Pub Date: 02 May 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Grove Atlantic, Grove Press