4.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and Grove Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved Cutting for Stone and was excited to know that the author had another fiction title coming out. But, the sheer length of the book was daunting. I finally mustered up the courage and commitment to read this book. It definitely was a beautifully told story but it still felt too long lowering the number of stars by 0.5 stars. We follow an Indian family from the early 1900s to 1977 who is cursed by tragedies involving water. We start the story with a young girl, I believe she's 12 years old, who has been matched to get married to a 40 year old widower, whose family is affected by water. We follow three generations of the family, which parallels India's history in the southwestern region - from plagues, Japanese invasion, colonization and religion, politics and cultural and gender beliefs. We are introduced to a surgeon, Digby from Scotland, who is training and is involved in a tragedy that forever changes his life. Philipose, the son and 2nd generation, marries Elsie and we follow their story and tragedies. And, it's the third generation where the story comes together, intertwined with all the other characters, and all the secrets are revealed. Having read both his fiction books, that are filled with so much sadness, grief, loss, and sacrifice that the happy aspect is usually bittersweet. If you're ready to experience a master storyteller's epic and want to get immersed in a different world, this is the one for you!

What a journey. Literally. Through time, along a river, through history. All at the same time I was privileged to be immersed in the lives of extraordinary characters - Big Ammachi, Philipose, Baby Mol, Elise,Uplift Master. I believe this last point is most important to me because by the end of this book I felt I knew them! I understood their thoughts and dreams. I laughed outloud and sobbed (sorry no spoilers).

At the end, I felt so content and at peace that it made it difficult to move on to the next book (I finally chose Taking Paris by Dugard for some quick paced history).

This is a great book club read as there are so many directions to discuss - spirituality, the significance of water and The Condition, the evolution of society and the affects on the characters, the caste system and yes, the characters.

Yes, it is 715 pages. I suggest you read it slowly - 20-30 pages a day. Savor the prose, the descriptions that make you feel like you are in the middle of a train station or sitting at Philipose’s desk or in the kitchen.

Thank you Abraham Vereghese for taking 14 years to bring this story to life.

Without question 5 stars.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

I am going to start with the fact that I couldn't wait to read this book. This is a book about Kerala, India from 1900-1977 and a Christian woman married off when she was a child. She would later become the matriarch of the family and be known as Big Ammachi. This story could be about my grandmothers, my Ammachi's. They were both Malayali Christian women who had arranged marriages in their teens. They were both strong and beautiful and I loved them. But as a child I never thought to ask them about their youth and their stories. Growing up in America my life was so different from theirs. This book gave me a glimpse of that time and place in Kerala, of what it might have been like for them. The author bought this epic, multi generational saga to life with his incredible storytelling. You can feel his love and connection to Kerala through the pages. This book is about curses, love, loss, afflictions, faith, hope and the connections of family that remain strong across generations. Thank you #NetGalley.

I avoided this book for a while, because I knew 1- I would not be able to start reading once I started and this book is a doorstopper; 2- I knew it would make me cry like Cutting for Stone did. And sure enough, once I started this book four days ago, both of these things happened. I read every minute I could get, and toggled between audio and print so that I could keep reading at every opportunity.

I'm in awe of Verghese's ability to write such a complicated epic that draws so many disparate threads into one moving story. The Covenant of Water is at once a love story, an intricate work of historical fiction, a medical mystery, and an exploration into faith and suffering. I loved being immersed in the landscape of Kerala and the multigenerational family stories, even as the author broke my heart many times. Brace yourself.

There was something about this book that just wasn’t for me and I ended up DNFing it. Each section I would just be getting really into a plot line and then the characters would change and the sections just felt to long and I had then forgotten about older plot lines before they circled back.

An epic masterful story by the writer of one of my favorite books, CUTTING FOR STONE. Opening in the early 1900s in a Southern Indian region of Keralia, a young girl heads by boat to her wedding to a 40 year old widower. That's the beginning of the story of this family. Haunting, beautifully written story interweaves between the family, the "Condition" of the family that takes someone by drowning in every generation, the culture and political history this area of India, and medicine. Just when the story starts going there is almost an abrupt switch to Scotland and a young to-be-surgeon. Have no fear these different paths are important and ultimately everything pays off. Admittedly the middle part of the book was slow going but it was more than worth it. And the last third of the book flies by.

WOW! What an involved read. This author emerges you into the story from page 1. The research placed into the story is very detailed and on point. At some
Points thru book I felt I was reading a medical journal.
I’ve read his first book (cutting for stone) which is still a favorite. My expectations of Water was high. The journey you take with the author is long winded road.
I enjoyed this book but towards the end I felt like it could have been wrapped with fewer pages and less background.
Bravo great story

Oh my goodness, where to start? Abraham Verghese is such a wonderfully complex writer. In this novel, he weaves together so many characters and stories, from India to Glasgow, and the reader manages to keep track and be interested in all of them. I loved this book.

This is the best book I have read in 2023 (so far)!! In fact, at age 71, it’s in the top 5 of books I’ve ever read in my LIFE!! I get emotional even thinking about it, and can’t wait to discuss it at our newly created online book club, created because of this book! And today I listened to Episode 1 of Oprah’s podcast with him.

Dr. Abraham Verghese is a master storyteller (loved Cutting for Stone just as much). Even all the medical topics I loved and found fascinating, because he explained each in such clear detail! He told Oprah it took him 14 years to write it!

I cannot lie; I love fat books, and at 726 pages (31+ Audible hours) it did not disappoint. I switched from the Kindle version to the Audible version pretty quickly after starting, just so I could hear the author narrate it himself, hear his pronunciations and inflections. And, because I loved it so much, tomorrow for my 71st birthday, my husband is getting me the hardback version to keep forever!

I highly recommend this book. It gripped me from the first paragraph!

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this beautiful story. This incredible story of different generations of a family will leave its mark on any reader. Verghese is an artist when it comes to crafting stories that go beyond the words on the page. You feel a part of the family. Please don't wait so long to write your next novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for the ARC of this book. I was highly excited to receive this advanced copy, in spite of the fact that I don't often like books that are in the Oprah Book Club. I did enjoy Cutting for Stone so I was looking forward to this novel.

I loved the epic story of three generations and the incredibly detailed descriptions of India. It's no surprise that the author, being a physician, has used his medical knowledge within the book's narrative, which I did find to be a bit distracting.

I do think the book could have been edited into a shorter version and it was difficult to get through. Without no fault of the book, I don't think I was in the right frame of mind to read a depressing book, perhaps I'll pick it up again at another time.

What to say about this book except get it, read it and enjoy every word. Truly an exceptional story of three generations of women in India and their families. The characters are beautifully written. The story covers 70 years, hopes, dreams, loss, medicine and so much. Destined to become a classic. Don't miss this one.

Wow. I had my doubts that this book could live up to my expectations since Cutting for Stone is one of my absolute favorites. I shouldn't have. This was such a journey. Really it was an epic. I loved almost every minute, every twist and turn, every triumph. So much sadness but also so much redemption. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.

I enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was really well done. It made you want to keep reading.

Dr. Verghese has written another amazing epic novel. It did not unseat his prior novel, Cutting for Stone, as my all-time favorite book but it is a great read. He also narrates the audio book if you enjoy listening. I also highly recommend the multi-part Oprah podcast. I know, you're thinking, "What?? This book is already a door stopper, now you want me to spend hours listening to the author talk about it?!!". Trust me, it's worth it and really adds to the reading experience. FWIT, I couldn't have ever imagined I would be recommending an Oprah podcast...

The Covenant of Water is truly an epic tale that spans generations, confronts class struggles, and leverages the growth of knowledge in the medical industry to move a diagnosis from a family secret to something tangible. Each character was an important part of the tale. I couldn't recommend this more highly!

This magnificent novel is difficult to finish. I will miss its rich story. Set in Kerala, India between 1900 and 1977, this family saga, tells of the mysterious Condition that takes a life in each generation, advances in medicine, strong women, colonialism and much more.

I'm not going to do a formal review of this book because there's been enough buzz with it being an Oprah pick and everyone loving it etc. I will say that it took me six months to finish this book which is a long time for me. I just couldn't get into it. I don't think this book needed to be almost 800 pages long! When I did finally finish the book, yes, I could appreciate the story and the characters and their journeys. Verghese's previous book Cutting for Stone was similar in that it took me awhile to get into the story and the characters, but with The Covenant of Water, I was never fully hooked. I know I'm in the minority here - to each their own.

Thank you to Net Galley and and Grove Atlantic for the advanced copy of this book!

I really wanted to like this book, especially because the characters were Indians and St. Thomas's Christians. But I couldn't. It took me 3 months to finish this books. I generally love books with heavy themes but the fact that it had so much to do with medicines made it a bit boring for me.
But the major issue was infidelity. That is something that does not sit well with me, so I did not like the ending.

It was a 3 🌟 read for me and one star is just for Amachi, the old Mariamma💗

First of all, thank you to Net Galley and and Grove Atlantic for the advanced copy of this book! I made it 20% of the way through the book before DNF-ing it. If you are a fan of books with medical themes/perspective (one of the main characters is a doctor), you may enjoy this one. I typically love a multigenerational saga but this one did not speak to me for now. Be sure to check content warnings before picking this one up.