Will I love The Covenant of Water?

I am always interested in books by other doctors who write fiction. This extended family saga is a majestic example of the genre.

The story begins in 1900 when a young girl from Kerala in southern India sets out by boat for her arranged marriage to an older man. Several of her husband’s relatives have died by drowning. It ends in 1977, when she has become the matriarch of an extended clan, and the medical reason for the drownings has finally been discovered. It is a beautifully written book with a large cast of characters and vivid descriptions of the… show more.

Despite its length (some 750 pages) and its ambling pace (not nearly as well-structured as Verghese's previous novel, Cutting for Stone), I was engaged by the convincing portrayal of 20th century rural India and its customs and class structure.

One of my favorite books of all time is Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. When the new book came out I had high hopes that it would be made of the same magic. It did not disappoint. But now I need to reread Cutting for Stone....

I've been a Verghese fan since I read Cutting for Stone. His new novel did not disappoint, with a sweeping three-generational epic that never slowed down in captivating my attention. The characters are unforgettable and the various settings are so well visualized you think you are there. With Verghese's signature weaving in of the medical, it's my perfect read as an author who's also a doctor. And it's no small feat when a 700-plus page novel is almost impossible to put down.

Abraham Verghese does not disappoint with this multi-generational tale of an Indian family battling a long-standing curse. While water brings them their livelihood, it also claims their lives, at least one person in each generation. Woven into the story are other characters whose lives we become deeply enmeshed in, from the doctor helping a colony of lepers while hiding from his own pain, to the granddaughter of the story's matriarch, who is determined to break her family's curse. Set in Kerala India, Verghese's writing flows as beautifully as the water he writes about, taking us on a journey that includes… show more.

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… show more.

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.

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… show more.

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.